CMI campaign for Canberra starts
Health care consumers in Canberra are about to be reminded of the importance of being fully informed about medicines, and taking the right medicine at the right time.
A two-week intensive campaign commenced yesterday, telling Canberrans about the availability of Consumer Medicine Information (CMIs) from pharmacists or online and whenever they purchase a prescription medicine.
The campaign, across local media in Canberra and through a range of other promotions, is being funded by healthlinks.net, a Pharmacy Guild-owned company which works on behalf of pharmaceutical companies to deliver medicine information to clinicians, pharmacists, publications, compendiums and consumer websites.
The purpose of the campaign is to ensure that consumers know that it is okay to ‘just ask’ at any time for CMI. A better understanding of medicines can lead to better health outcomes.
The campaign will also serve as a reminder to pharmacists about the benefits of ensuring that patients receive CMIs in appropriate circumstances.
The Canberra campaign will include the distribution of “just ask” materials at shopping centres, radio and print advertising, and mobile truck advertising to drive home the message.
Research will be conducted both before and after the two-week trial to measure the success of the campaign. If the results are positive, it’s hoped funding can be found for a similar campaign to be conducted nationally.
The National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Kos Sclavos, welcomed the Canberra campaign, saying, “Anything that can be done to improve consumer health literacy is beneficial.
“Taking the right medicine at the right time, and having a good knowledge of your medicines can have measurable benefits for individuals and the health system as a whole.”
