Strengths and opportunities of Medication Advisory Committees

Medication Advisory Committees (MACs) — according to the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care — provide “overarching governance of medication management within residential care homes”, the department recommending that all residential aged care facilities have access to a MAC, to support safe use of medications and, ultimately, mitigate risks associated with inappropriate prescribing — such as polypharmacy, the use of nine or more medications simultaneously.

A national audit of 120 MACs overseeing 642 residential facilities — amounting to close to a quarter of all Australian residential facilities — has highlighted strengths and opportunities of these committees. Led by Monash University’s Centre for Medicine Use and Safety (CMUS), the audit examined how MACs function across their four recommended operational domains — policy development, risk management, education and quality improvement.

The audit found MACs to be actively involved in policy and risk oversight — 59 and 53%, respectively, performing all recommended functions — with further opportunities for capacity building and long-term improvement. 41% were found to fulfil all educational roles, while 28% were fully engaged in quality improvement initiatives. With the 1 July implementation of the new strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards approaching, CMUS research fellow Dr Amanda Cross sees their continued potential.

“MACs are well positioned to support implementation and monitoring of Quality Standard 5 to ensure delivery of safe and quality clinical care to the almost 200,000 older Australians who access residential care,” Cross said. “MACs have the potential to lead transformational change in this sector — if adequately supported and resourced.” The audit has been published open access in Australasian Journal on Ageing and is available to read at doi.org/10.1111/ajag.70048.

Image: Monash University