Reports & evaluation

The NPS MedicineWise Annual Report is a showcase of our work over each financial year. It provides an overview of our key activities and initiatives, reports on our performance, and includes our annual financial statements.

The NPS MedicineWise annual report is prepared in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001.

As NPS MedicineWise continues to develop new areas of interest and strength, educating people to make the best decisions about medicines and medical tests, we continue to demonstrate the impact of our programs on prescribers of medicines.

The 22nd Annual Evaluation Report summarises the results from evaluations conducted in 2018–19. Highlights include:

• $69.93 million – reported savings for the PBS, a result of the impact of seven programs, including work to reduce antibiotic resistance and opioid use.
• $21.57­­­ million – reported savings for the MBS achieved via significant reductions in CT scans and ultrasound services of the abdominal region by GPs.
• Choosing Wisely Australia – improved reach of the program and reflection of Choosing Wisely recommendations in MBS review taskforce recommendations.

For the past three years, the General Practice Insights Reports (commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health) have provided an overview of the care provided in general practice. 

This year’s report looks at the de-identified data of around 2.9 million patients, to explore who they are, why they visit their GPs, and aspects of the clinical management they receive. As in previous years, it shows that chronic illnesses are commonly managed by GPs. 

This year, for the first time, the report provides information on the patient prevalence of certain childhood illnesses, dementia and serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

We hope that these documents provide patients, GPs, policy makers and researchers with an accurate picture of the enormous amount of work undertaken in primary care.

MedicineInsight is a quality improvement program developed to improve clinical practice and health outcomes in Australia. MedicineInsight allows GPs to reflect on their own patterns of prescribing and patient care. Insights drawn from the aggregated clinical data of all participating general practices can also be used by policymakers, health systems and health professionals. The reports reproduced below have been commissioned by the Australian Department of Health.

In 2017, NPS MedicineWise collaborated with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) on a research project looking at consumers’ attitudes to use of their health data. The final report was generated through qualitative interviews, literature reviews, a round table discussion with key stakeholders and consumer representatives, and a nationally representative survey of 1,013 Australians.

The final report, Engaging consumers in their health data journey, is now available here.

These research findings provide key insights about consumers' attitudes to use of their health data and their preferences about consent.

If you have any comments or questions about this report, please email Bronwyn Walker at bronwyn.walker@nps.org.au.

Accessibility: this report is currently not accessible but will be updated soon with an accessible version. If you need help, please contact us on phone: +61 2 8217 8700.

Since 1998, scientific publications have been developed by NPS MedicineWise staff or funded or supported by NPS MedicineWise.

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