Medicines stewardship

Elizabeth Su, David F.L. Liew, Jane Donnelly, Rohan A. Elliott

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Medicines stewardship refers to coordinated strategies and interventions to optimise medicines use, usually within a specific therapeutic area. Medicines stewardship programs can reduce variations in practice and improve patient outcomes. Therapeutic domains for medicines stewardship are chosen to address frequently used drug classes associated with a high risk of adverse outcomes. Some examples include antimicrobial, opioid analgesic, anticoagulation and psychotropic stewardship. Common elements of successful stewardship programs include multidisciplinary leadership, stakeholder engagement, tailored communication strategies, behavioural changes, implementation science methodologies, and ongoing program monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Medicines stewardship is a continual quality improvement process that requires ongoing support and resources, as well as clinician and consumer engagement, to remain sustainable. It is critical for hospital-based medicines stewardship programs to consider impacts on care in the community when making and communicating changes to patient therapy. This ensures that stewardship efforts are sustained across transitions of care.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24-28
Number of pages5
JournalAustralian Prescriber
Volume46
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • anticoagulation stewardship
  • antimicrobial stewardship
  • medicines stewardship
  • opioid analgesic stewardship
  • psychotropic stewardship
  • quality use of medicines

Cite this