Post-Discharge Medication Service

The Post-Discharge Medication Service (PDMS) is a new service funded by the SA Government for people returning home from hospital. Eligible patients will be referred for the Post-Discharge Medication Service by a hospital pharmacist. The Post-Discharge Medication Service is conducted by community pharmacists to provide people with support and advice about their medicines within seven days of discharge from hospital.

The Post-Discharge Medication Service aims to:

  • support people with complex medication needs to connect with a community pharmacist
  • reduce avoidable medication-related readmissions by providing support for those with complex medical and medication needs after discharge from hospital.

Program commencement and expansion

Following a successful pilot phase, the service is now being expanded to include more community pharmacies across South Australia, ensuring eligible patients from across the state can access the service.

All community pharmacies in South Australia are invited to register for the PDMS.

How community pharmacies can register

All South Australian community pharmacies are invited to participate in the PDMS. To register to provide the PDMS, you will need to undertake the following:

  1. Review the eligibility and service delivery requirements in the Model of Care (PDF 702KB)
  2. Complete the online registration form

Once registered, you will receive an email providing details about how to complete the onboarding process.

The State Government has committed support for community pharmacies across South Australia to conduct at least 1,000 reconciliations annually for patients discharging from Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) and the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH). Under the initiative, community pharmacies will be able to claim payment for providing the service.

If you have any queries regarding the registration process, please contact the Office of the Chief Pharmacist at Health.OfficeoftheChiefPharmacist@sa.gov.au.

Consumer eligibility

To be eligible for the post-discharge medicines service, the person must:

  • be aged 65 years or older, or 40 years or older if Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; OR
    be considered by the care team to be at risk of experiencing medication misadventure (e.g. recurrent hospital admissions, social/behavioural concerns)

and

  • be recently discharged home from FMC or RAH to their home (patients living in assisted care facilities are ineligible)

and

  • meet at least one of the following criteria:
    • using nine or more medicines on a regular basis
    • prescribed a high-risk medicine (e.g. insulin, opioid or other sedative, oral chemotherapy, anticoagulant)
    • prescribed a new long-term medicine or has experienced a significant change to their usual medication regimen during their inpatient admission
    • have self-identified concerns regarding their medication regimen.

What to expect using the post-discharge medicines service

Hospital pharmacists will advise patients if they are eligible to be involved in the service and refer them to a participating community pharmacy of their choice. Once the patient has returned home, the community pharmacist will call them to book a time and place for the consult.

The community pharmacist will review the person’s medicines and provide an action plan and updated medication list, if required. This information will also be shared with the person’s general practitioner to assist them to support the patient with their medication management.

Patients will be able to address concerns or questions about their medicines with a community pharmacist.

For more information about the service, see the consumer frequently asked question (PDF 203KB)

Further information

For more information about the service, see: