MedAdvisor Codeine Patient Education Program (PEP)

Recently listed health software firm MedAdvisor has formally launched a new Patient Education Program (PEP) which aims to help address the risk of addiction and serious side effects for those using S3 codeine analgesics. Created in partnership with Painaustralia, the PEP works to improve the quality use of medicines by delivering educational messages directly to patients via smartphone, tablet or web browser.

"Whilst IT tools which facilitate real-time prescription monitoring can greatly assist prescribers and pharmacists in controlling the supply of medications, we believe it is important to develop ‘patient focused’ solutions,” said MedAdvisor CEO Robert Read.

“Addiction cycles often begin with unintended misuse of codeine-based products...the tool MedAdvisor is launching today works to support and educate patients at the time they are using these medications”.

The move follows the massive controversy sparked late last year when the Therapeutic Goods Administration proposed rescheduling medications containing codeine to prescription-only, with widespread opposition from most pharmacy and patient groups.

The Pharmacy Guild undertook to rapidly develop a real-time monitoring system to stop multiple codeine purchases, but interestingly this is also possible using the new MedAdvisor system. Read said the software “also captures real-time dispense data and can, where appropriate and following privacy legislation, share visibility of dispenses across pharmacies.

“MedAdvisor can offer an effective and immediate solution for real-time prescription monitoring,” he said. In order to receive the education information patients will be required to register for MedAdvisor’s free app.  Once their online profile is updated with the recording of codeine-based sales, the app will provide a series of messages to the patient which reinforce information provided by the pharmacist about the safe and effective use of codeine analgesics.

Read said the program could in future be expanded to include any S4 and S8 medication subject to abuse, such as benzodiazepines and opiates.

Learn how to utilise the MedAdvisor apps with the education modules shown below.

Source: Pharmacydaily.com.au, Monday 25 January 2016