Help to identify active ingredients in prescription medicines

The National Prescribing Service (NPS) has developed an online tool to help consumers and professionals identify the active ingredients in prescription medicines.

The NPS Medicine Name Finder is the organisation’s first development in the field of online social innovation.

When users type a drug’s brand name into the finder at www.nps.org.au, its active ingredients appear on the screen – and when a key ingredient is entered, a list of brand names appear. 
 
They are then encouraged to record their medicine details on a ‘Medicines List’ which they can download or print out.

The website also contains a link to the Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet which contains more details about the medicine.

NPS chief executive officer, Dr Lynn Weekes, said she hoped the new tool would help reduce the number of people who are hospitalised or encounter problems because of incorrect medication use.

“Understanding your medicines can help reduce the likelihood of an adverse event and enable you to have informed discussions with health professionals about managing your health,” she said.

The data supporting the name finder is provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Division of the Department of Health and Ageing and it is updated monthly.

It does not cover over-the-counter, natural or herbal medicines, nor medicines not listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.