Free · In your own home · NSW
A pharmacist comes to you, and goes through the lot.
Every medicine in the house, 1 hour at your kitchen table, and a letter to your doctor afterwards.
Sound familiar?
You're not the only one thinking it.
These are the things people tell us in the first 10 minutes, almost word for word.
I take about 9 different things and I couldn't tell you what half of them are actually for.
I've felt dizzy since they changed something, but I don't want to make a fuss about it.
My specialist started one and I'm not sure my GP even knows.
I came out of hospital with a completely different list to the one I went in with.
I stopped one because it made me feel awful. I haven't told anyone.
There's never time to ask properly in a 10-minute appointment.
If you nodded at even one of those, this is exactly what a Home Medicines Review is for, and it costs you nothing.
What happens
4 steps. One of them is yours.
Your doctor refers you
You don't have to organise anything. Say yes at your appointment and they do the rest.
We ring you
Within a couple of days, to find a time that suits. We'll name your doctor's practice so you know it's genuine.
We come to you
About an hour at your kitchen table. Bring anyone you'd like: a partner, family member or carer.
We write to your doctor
Within a week. Then you see them to talk through anything worth changing.
During the visit
What the hour is actually spent on.
- Going through every medicine you have, one at a time. What it's for, when you take it, whether it's working
- Checking whether any of them clash or double up
- Sorting out anything confusing, like 2 boxes with different names and the same drug inside, or a dose that changed and nobody told you
- Answering the questions you'd never ring the surgery about
Then we write it all up and send it to your doctor. You keep a plain-English copy.
What you get out of it
Most people come away with fewer questions, and often fewer tablets.
Nobody sets out to be on 9 medicines. It happens one at a time, over years, and no one ever sits down and goes through the whole lot with you.
- You'll know what every single one is actually for
- You'll find out whether any of them are working against each other
- Anything you no longer need gets flagged to your doctor
- You can ask the things there's never time for in a 10-minute appointment
- Your partner, family or carer can sit in and ask their own
And you keep a plain-English summary afterwards. It's the one people end up sticking on the fridge.
Am I eligible?
If a few of these sound like you, probably yes.
- You take 5 or more regular medicines
- You've recently come out of hospital
- More than 1 doctor prescribes for you
- Your medicines changed in the last few months
- You find them confusing or hard to manage
- You have a Medicare or DVA card
Living independently in a retirement village counts as your own home.
How to ask
“Could I have a Home Medicines Review?”
Say that at your next appointment. Your doctor decides whether it's right for you and sends the referral. There is nothing else you need to do.
Set your mind at rest
3 things people ask first.
Will you change my medicines?
No. We write to your doctor with what we found. Nothing changes without them.
Is this a scam?
We always name the practice that referred you, and never ask for bank details or payment. There is nothing to pay.
Do I have to tidy up?
Please don't. A normal day is more useful to us than a tidy one.
Want the whole thing explained properly, including who qualifies, what it costs and how to ask your doctor? Read what a Home Medicines Review is and how to get one.
The numbers behind the visit
Medication-related problems are one of the most common causes of preventable hospital admissions in Australia. A single review can catch what years of short appointments miss.
What the evidence says
Research consistently shows that Home Medicines Reviews reduce medication-related harm and support better patient outcomes.
Fewer admissions
Interactions and dosing errors get caught before they put someone in hospital.
Medicines actually taken
People who understand their medicines take them properly. An hour at home does what ten minutes cannot.
Less polypharmacy
Over 40% of Australians over 65 take five or more medicines. A review flags the ones no longer needed.
Your GP stays in charge
They get one clear summary and decide what changes. Nothing happens without them.
Still not sure?
Ring us and we'll explain it before you raise it with your doctor. No obligation, nothing to pay.