In November 2019, Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety was announced as Australia’s 10th National Health Priority. The Commission was assigned the responsibility of drafting the national baseline report on Quality Use of Medicines and Medicine Safety to inform new best practice models, new national standards and better medication management. The work to develop the national baseline report is divided into two Phases:

• Phase 1 focussed on aged care and issues of polypharmacy, use of antipsychotic medicines and transitions of care.
• Phase 2 will investigate the broader issues of Quality Use of Medicines and Medicine Safety, as well as issues of medication safety during transitions of care.

The result of Phase 1 is this report. It identifies a potential roadmap to embed Quality Use of Medicine principles in the aged care sector, with the aim of reducing medication-related harm.