Pharmacy Daily | Ageing on the agenda for Medicare Locals

The Central Coast NSW Medicare Local has established an Aged Care Taskforce as the centrepiece of the Medicare Local's aged care portfolio. The taskforce includes representatives from organisations that provide both residential and community based aged care services as well as local general practitioners and representatives from the Local Health District (Gosford and Wyong Hospitals). The Taskforce is in its infancy and is established to provide leadership and expertise in the planning, development and implementation of aged care services in primary health across the NSW Central Coast as well as provide guidance to the Medicare Local in how to utilise funding for ongoing and future aged care programs. As a way of understanding health issues and service gaps in aged care, the Taskforce engaged various stakeholders across the region including pharmacists to provide feedback. This feedback highlighted the need for improved communication between the Local District, GPs and pharmacists particularly in discharge planning and transferring care and a need to increase and promote Home Medication Reviews. The role of the pharmacists in maintaining people's independence into old age will be discussed at the Chronicity of Ageing Forum at the Annual Therapeutic Update on 1-3 March at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal NSW. Andrew Davison is the Health Care Integration and Improvement Manager at the Central Coast Medicare Local and can be contacted on (02) 43652294. This week’s contributor is Andrew Davidson, Healthcare Integration and Improvement Manager at the Central Coast Medicare Local.

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