Quality use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre
The Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre focuses on the
development, implementation and evaluation of national medicines policies
and programs through research, consultancy and training in community,
hospital, institutional, professional, public and private settings.
Members of the Centre are highly regarded for their successful work in:
- National and international health policy development and evaluation
- Quality use of medicines and national medicines policy development, evaluation and implementation
- Pharmacoepidemiological research, teaching and training
- Pharmacy practice development research and evaluation
- Community development and health promotion strategies and evaluation
- Multidisciplinary research using qualitative and quantitative methodologies
- Research into traditional and complementary medicines
- Consumer medicines information and education
- Health psychology and behaviour change research, teaching and training
- Developing health-related teaching, learning resources and training programs
Centre Director
Associate Professor
Libby Roughead
(Retired - Professor
Andrew Gilbert)
Senior Research Fellows
John Barratt
Associate Professor
Simon Bell
Dr
Nicole Pratt
Dr
Susan Semple
Dr
Agnes Vitry
Research Fellows
Dr
Gillian Caughey
Dr
Alice Clark
Dr
Svetla Gadzhanova
Dr
Lisa Kalisch
Dr
Kym Preiss
Research Staff
Natalie
Blacker
Tammy Le Blanc
Emmae Ramsay (under arrangement with University of Adelaide)
Bradley Simpson
Catherine Spirat
Professional staff
Chris Eaton
Sam Le Gallou
Annette Paschke
Bill Tyrie
Jane Walford
School-based (teaching) members
Dr Geoff March
Dr Deepa Rao
Chris Thompson
Associate and external members
Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom
Associate Professor Chris Alderman (Repatriation General Hospital)
Associate Professor Kingsley Coulthard (Women's & Children's Hospital)
Associate Professor Chris Doecke (Royal Adelaide Hospital)
Associate Professor Vaughn Eton (Flinders Medical Centre)
PhD candidates
Luke Grzeskowiak
Jodie Hillen
Michael Leach
Vivienne Mak
Janet Sluggett
Loc Thai
Izyan Wahab
Imaina Widagdo
Schulz Veteran's MATES Travel Scholarship
The Travel Scholarship is designed to assist a postgraduate student and/or research staff member employed by the University in the Veterans' MATES project obtain national or international academic conference/meeting experience.
Previous awards received
2007
Lisa Kalisch - PhD Student
2008
Nicole Pratt - PhD Student
Collaborators, partners and clients
The QUMRC has numerous cooperative relationships with other universities, government bodies, industry organisations and hospitals both in Australia and around the world. Whether we are collaborating on major research projects, sharing data and expertise, or providing consultancy and training services, our aim is the same: to optimise human health through better medicines and medicines policy.
Our collaborators include:
South Australia
Adelaide North Eastern Division of General Practice
Cancer Council of South Australia
Department of Health (South Australian Government)
Drug and Therapeutic Information Service (DATIS)
Flinders Medical Centre
Flinders University
Pharmacy Board of South Australia
Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park SA
Royal Adelaide Hospital
Royal District Nursing Service of SA (RDNS)
South Australian Divisions of General Practice Inc (SADI)
University of Adelaide
Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide
National
Australian Medicines Handbook
Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Australian Government)
National Prescribing Service
Pharmaceutical Defence Limited
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
Pharmacy Guild of Australia
University of Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Western Australia
International
Action on Antibiotic Resistance (ReAct)
Consumer Medicines and Health Institute (KILEN), Sweden
Commonwealth Fund, New York
Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, Sweden
Harrison Health Research
Harvard University, USA
JSS College of Pharmacy, Mysore, India
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society
Malaysian Pharmacy Board
University of British Columbia, Canada
University of Minnesota, USA
York University, Canada
Our valued clients include:
Department of Health and Ageing (Australian Government)
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Australian Government)
Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Our current key projects include:
- Veterans’ MATES project
- Optimal ageing for people with multiple chronic conditions
- Consumer co-payments for prescription medicines: impact on access and health outcomes
- Pharmacological investigations of medicinal plant products from Kaanju
Homelands, Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers, Cape York Peninsula
Veterans’ MATES project
Project leaders: Andrew Gilbert, Libby Roughead
Client: Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Australian Government)
The multimillion dollar Veterans’ MATES (Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services) project aims to improve veterans’ medication usage and health outcomes by using patient specific feedback to inform GPs about medication issues. The feedback is supplemented by education materials aimed at veterans and health professionals. As part of the project the QUMPRC has established a state-of-the-art data management centre linking DVA, veteran and doctor-specific information.
Optimal ageing for people with multiple chronic conditions
Chief investigators: Andrew Gilbert, Libby Roughead, Robyn McDermott,
Adrian Esterman, Philip Ryan (University of Adelaide), Mary Luszcz (Flinders University),
Sepehr Shakib (Royal Adelaide Hospital)
Funding: NHMRC/ARC Ageing Well Ageing Productively grant
This study aims to establish a methodology for developing guidelines to
achieve the best possible outcomes for older Australians with common
combinations of chronic conditions. Looking at selected commonly-occurring
combinations of chronic conditions, the research will provide a better
understanding of the consequences of current patterns of care. More
realistic guidelines generated by this analysis will help reduce the extent
to which the elderly are placed at risk of adverse drug reactions.
Consumer co-payments for prescription medicines: impact on access and
health outcomes
Chief Investigators: Libby Roughead, James Semmens (Curtin University
of Technology), David Preen (University of Western Australia), John Glover
(University of Adelaide)
Funding: NHMRC project grant
Expenditure under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was over $6.5
billion in 2003-04 and rising at a rate of 11% per annum. To ensure medicine
costs remain affordable, the Australian government has instituted a number
of measures including cost-effectiveness assessments, brand premium
policies, generic substitution and consumer co-payments. This study focuses
on the impact of consumer co-payments, as international research suggests
co-payments may affect vulnerable populations and impact adversely on
medicine use and health outcomes. The project aims to determine if consumer
co-payments for subsidised medicines impact on medication and health service
utilization of selected population groups. The research will include a
series of retrospective, observational studies of linked health and pharmacy
data using time series analysis.
Pharmacological investigations of medicinal plant products from Kaanju
Homelands, Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers, Cape York Peninsula
Chief investigators: Susan Semple, Jiping Wang, Ross McKinnon, David
Claudie (Chuulungun Aboriginal Corporation)
Funding: ARC Linkage Grant
This project has dual aims of investigating the novel pharmacological
actions and chemical components of plant species used as traditional
medicines from an area of high biodiversity, the Kaanju homelands, and
facilitating the preservation and intergenerational transfer of cultural
knowledge about these plants among the Kaanju people. The first in-depth
Western scientific evaluation of the pharmacology of plant medicines from
the region, the project will provide information to help sustainable
development of products based on Kaanju medicinal plants, and will serve as
a model for equitable partnerships between Indigenous and western scientific
researchers in the investigation of traditional medicinal plant knowledge.
Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research
Centre
phone: +61 8 8302 9965
fax: +61 8 8302 1087
email:
Samuel.legallou@unisa.edu.au