National Health Services Directory
Pharmacies can now let their community know they stock the four core palliative care medicines from the National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List on Healthdirect.
Through the Australian Government’s Healthdirect and the National Health Services Directory (NHSD), pharmacies are able to include ‘Palliative medicine service’ as part of their listed service offerings. Including this service offering enables patients, carers, GPs, and health professionals to search and filter for pharmacies that stock core palliative care medicines in their local area, making it easier to plan ahead before visiting or calling.
Stocking these medicines supports timely access to urgent symptom relief for people receiving palliative care at home in the terminal phase.
The NHSD is a comprehensive, national directory of health services and practitioners. It is funded by the governments of Australia and managed by Healthdirect Australia. Community members can access information about health services near them via the Healthdirect Service Finder, the public version of the NHSD.
Updating your pharmacy's NHSD service listing and next steps
Stock
Update
Communicate
Access
Stock the medicines from the National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List.
Register or update your pharmacy listing on the NHSD website.
A short how-to video is available to guide you.
Communicate your pharmacy's offerings to patients, carers, GPs, and other health professionals in your area.
Use the Pharmacy Pack, palliMEDS app, and access the ASPIRE Palliative Care Foundation Training by PSA to support your palliative care knowledge and service delivery.
Frequently asked questions
In response to requests from key national stakeholders, the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care supported caring@home to develop a core medicines list applicable across all Australian States and Territories. The List is a vital tool that will support standardised, quality palliative care by improving access to medicines in the community.
caring@home convened a national Working Party of clinicians (palliative medicine specialists, rural generalists, general practitioners, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, nurses) with representation from many key stakeholder organisations.
The Committee identified a short list of medicines, all of which are on the PBS, that would treat the most common urgent end-of-life symptoms. A short list of medicines is the cost effective for pharmacists.
The pharmacy can still hold medicines from other 'core' palliative care medicines lists but they can only tick the service offering 'Palliative medicine service' only if they stock the 4 core medicines from the National list
Prescribers can access prescribing information about the 4 core medicines via the palliMEDS app developed by caring@home.
Most palliative care patients say they would like to be cared for, and to die, at home. However, palliative patients are inherently unstable: deterioration can occur at any time and distressing symptoms can suddenly emerge.
Providing the Palliative Care Medicines filter on its Search Finder, enables Healthdirect to support palliative patients to have timely access to medicines for urgent symptom control to avoid unnecessary suffering and/or unwanted transfers to inpatient facilities.
Community Palliative Care Resources Pharmacy Pack
The Community Palliative Care Resources Pharmacy Pack help pharmacists to support families and carers in providing practical care, physical symptom management and subcutaneous medicine management for a person at home.
Download the flyer for more information.
Order a pack
One pack can be ordered per pharmacy. Click the button below to submit your order.
What is in the pharmacy pack?
| Managing physical symptoms Tip sheets | ||
Managing subcutaneous medicines Factsheets | Making sure there are enough medicines in the home Storing your palliative care medicines safely/Disposing of your | |
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Recognising dying Tip sheet | Knowing when a person is getting closer to dying/Knowing when a person has died | |
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Understanding infusion devices Factsheets | Information for carers: CADD™-SOLIS and CADD™-SOLISVIP infusion pumps | |
Information for carers: NIKI T34™, T34™ and BODYGUARD™T syringe pumps | ||
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Providing practical care Step-by-step guides | ||
| Shelf talkers | Supporting timely stocking and ordering of medicines from the National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List |
How to use the pharmacy pack?
- Familiarise yourself with the factsheets, tip sheets and step-by-step guide
- Keep these documents as a master set and download or print more copies as needed
- Provide a copy of relevant resources to families or carers when needed
- Advise families and carers to follow clinical guidance and consult with their health care providers.
- Use the shelf talkers to maintain stocks of core community palliative care medicines.