Project outline
Older people living in residential aged care homes often use multiple medicines. Our project follows the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommendation to implement new care models in aged care homes that include pharmacists, to support safe and effective medicines use.
The aim of this project is to develop, implement, cost and disseminate a quality indicator framework to support credentialed pharmacists who work in and with aged care homes to improve medicines use and health outcomes for residents.
We have already completed the following activities:
- Synthesised existing quality indicators for evaluating pharmacist services and quality use of medicines in aged care settings.
- Interviewed key stakeholders such as residents and families, aged care providers, GPs, and pharmacists, to understand their needs and preferences.
- Developed a co-designed national quality indicator framework that includes quality indicators for evaluating quality use of medicines and credentialed pharmacist’s services in aged care homes.
We are currently working on:
- Determining feasibility and acceptability of the agreed quality indicators using multiple real-world data sources, as well as implementing the indicators in aged care homes.
- Estimating direct health system costs due to facility-level variation in quality use of medicines.
- At the end of the project, a fully costed national implementation plan will be developed to guide program scaling and extension of our findings.
Get involved
We are piloting our quality indicators for evaluating pharmacist services and quality use of medicines in residential aged care homes throughout Australia.
The pilot period will be 12 weeks, commencing in Jan-Feb 2026 and aims to test the feasibility and usability of quality indicators that have been identified through the PHARMA-Care project. The quality indicators are outlined in the PHARMA-Care National Quality Framework (available from the link below).
Aged care homes using the RMMR or onsite pharmacist (ACOP) model are eligible. Participating aged care homes will be provided with training and ongoing support during the pilot study, and an honoraria in lieu of the time spent on participation.
If you are interested in being a pilot site and/or would like to find out more about the project, please contact us via email: ALH-PHARMA-Care@unisa.edu.au
PHARMA-Care National Quality Framework
We have developed the PHARMA-Care National Quality Framework. Our project team members, partner organisation and broader stakeholders provided detailed feedback. The framework has been endorsed by the Ageing Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha), and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation – SA Branch (ANMF-SA).
The framework provides a guide for aged care homes and credentialed pharmacists working in aged care homes to evaluate quality use of medicines and pharmacist services. If you want to know more about the framework and its development process, download the document here:
Download pdf version of the framework document
Project team members
Chief Investigators
- A/Prof Janet Sluggett
- Prof Maria Inacio
- Prof Gillian Caughey
- A/Prof Jyoti Khadka
- Prof Gregory Peterson
- Dr Andrew Stafford
- A/Prof Lisa Kalisch Ellett
- Dr Shane Jackson
- A/Prof Peter Hibbert
- Dr Monica Cations
- Ms Megan Corlis
- A/Prof Solomon Yu
- A/Prof Malcolm Clark
- Dr Jodie Hillen
- Dr Natalie Soulsby
- Prof Elizabeth Manias
Our partners and collaborators
- Australian Government Aged Care Safety and Quality Commission
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
- Advanced Pharmacy Australia
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- Ageing Australia
- Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA Branch
- Eldercare
- Embedded Health Solutions
- Medi-Map
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
- Flinders University
- University of Tasmania
- Macquarie University
Funding support
The PHARMA-Care project is supported by a Medical Research Future Fund 2022 Quality, Safety, and Effectiveness of Medicine Use and Medicine Intervention by Pharmacists Grant (grant ID MRFMMIP000019).
Project outputs
Publications
Gutteridge DS, Calder AH, Stasinopoulos J, Javanparast S, Caughey GE, Hillen JB, Stafford AC, Peterson GM, Inacio MC, Khadka J, Kalisch Ellett LM, Jackson SL, Hibbert PD, Cations ML, Corlis ME, Yu SC, Clark MJ, Soulsby NR, Manias E, Yoo GH, Sluggett JK. Quality indicators for safe and effective use of medications in long-term care settings: A systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/bcp.70242
Javanparast S, Gutteridge DS, Hibbert PD, Manias E, Stafford AC, Peterson GM, Caughey GE, Sluggett JK. The Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist (ACOP) program in Australia: a qualitative study to examine key considerations for successful implementation in residential aged care homes. Int J Clin Pharm 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-025-01991-3
Sluggett JK, Gutteridge DS, Calder A, Hughes GA, Manias E, Ramanathan SA, Budden K, Sketris, I, Javanparast S. Evaluation of the Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP) program in Australian residential aged care homes: Key considerations and next steps. Res Social Adm Pharm 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.10.006
Infographics
How are medications managed in aged care homes? Views and experiences of residents and families.
Click image to enlarge
Conference presentations
Daria S Gutteridge (presenter), Annabel H Calder, Jacqui Stasinopoulos, Sara Javanparast, Gillian E Caughey, Jodie B Hillen, Andrew C Stafford, Gregory M Peterson, Maria C Inacio, Jyoti Khadka, Lisa M Kalisch Ellett, Shane L Jackson, Peter D Hibbert, Monica L Cations, Megan E Corlis, Solomon C Yu, Malcom J Clark, Natalie R Soulsby, Elizabeth Manias, Grace H-Y Yoo, Janet K Sluggett, Quality use of medicines within aged care settings: A systematic review of quality indicators, 57th AAG Conference, 12-15 November 2024, Hobart, Australia.
Sara Javanparast (presenter), Peter Hibbert, Elizabeth Manias, Daria Gutteridge, Annabel Calder, Greg Peterson, Andrew Stafford, Gillian Caughey, Janet Sluggett, on behalf of the Pharmacists Actioning Rational Use of Medicines in Aged Care (PHARMA-Care) Investigators, Person-centred medication management in residential aged care homes: Gaps, opportunities, and challenges, 57th AAG Conference, 12-15 November 2024, Hobart, Australia.
Janet Sluggett (presenter), Daria Gutteridge, Annabel Calder, Sara Javanparast, on behalf of the PHARMA-Care Investigators. Development of a national quality indicator framework for the aged care on-site pharmacist program: the PHARMA-Care project, PSA25, 1-3 August 2025, Sydney, Australia.
Daria Gutteridge (presenter), Sara Javanparast, Annabel H Calder, Gillian E Caughey, Andrew C Stafford, Gregory M Peterson, Maria C Inacio, Peter D Hibbert, Elizabeth Manias, Jodie B Hillen, Janet K Sluggett, Residential aged care quality use of medicines indicators: a Delphi study, ASCEPT, 9-12 December 2025, Adelaide, Australia.
Sara Javanparast (presenter), Daria Gutteridge, Peter D Hibbert, Elizabeth Manias, Andrew C Stafford, Gregory M Peterson, Gillian E Caughey, Janet K Sluggett, on behalf of the Pharmacists Actioning Rational Use of Medicines in Aged Care (PHARMA-Care) Investigators, Stakeholders' perspectives about factors influencing the successful implementation of the Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist (ACOP) program in Australia, APSA 2025 Annual Conference, 7-10 December 2025, Adelaide, Australia.
Janet Sluggett (presenter), Sara Javanparast, Aaron Davis, Georgina Hughes, Sarah Eley, Helen Radoslovich, Anna Sheppeard, Steve Wesselingh, Consumer voices in research: strategies and success stories, APSA 2025 Annual Conference, 7-10 December 2025, Adelaide, Australia.
Janet Sluggett (presenter), Medicines management in aged care: evidence, interventions, and policy impact, APSA 2025 Annual Conference, 7-10 December 2025, Adelaide, Australia.
