Fri 23 October 2026
Limitless at 50: Medicines Management opens in Brisbane with call to keep humans at the heart of AI in health care
Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) today opened its 50th national conference – Medicines Management 2026 (MM2026) – in Brisbane , more than six decades after the first conference gathered in a 'humble Adelaide boardroom' in 1961.
Officially opening the conference, MM2026 Scientific Program Committee Chair Stephen Louey FANZCAP (EmergMed) said that since attending his first Medicines Management in 2011, he had watched the profession’s scope expand in ways that embody this year’s ‘Limitless’ theme.
‘What still feels like a relatively short journey through the profession has nevertheless allowed me to witness extraordinary progress. We have seen collaborative prescribing become a reality, pharmacists playing an increasingly central role in discharge prescription planning, and we are now looking toward a future where pharmacists prescribe independently and pharmacy technicians undertake increasingly advanced clinical responsibilities.
‘The progress we have made in such a short period of time is remarkable. It demonstrates that our potential as a profession is truly limitless.’
Delivering the AdPha President’s address, Assoc. Prof. Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) reflected on a year of accelerating change amid increasing uncertainty, with AI shifted from the headlines to being ‘woven into the fabric' of MM2026.
Amid community unease about technology, a recessionary economic cycle and mounting pressure on health budgets, he said advanced pharmacy was better equipped than most to meet the moment.
‘We will see phenomenal new drugs entering the market at faster rates, and advanced pharmacy is built on managing powerful things safely. We don’t fear potent medicines. We don’t avoid them, we govern them.
‘These rigorous principles – respect for the power of a tool plus insistence on human oversight – are exactly what this moment calls for.’
Assoc. Prof. Simpson said that, used well and through responsible advocacy, AI would take on the work that ‘eats our days’ – repetitive documentation, data wrangling and endless searching across systems – while the heart of pharmacy care would remain human.
‘We will never lose sight of what cannot be automated or digitised. It is the patient who reveals what they really take, once we pull up a chair and stop looking at the screen. It is the moment family members understand that stopping a medicine can be an act of care.
‘These moments are always more than the transfer of information, relying on trust, judgement and accountability. Australia’s largest scientific pharmacy conference is built on trust, judgement and accountability, just as it has been since 1961.
‘While technology will make us faster, it is each other that will make us better, and the care we deliver, safer.’
As part of his address, Assoc. Prof. Simpson announced the elevation of Professor Ian Coombes to the title of AdPha Distinguished Fellow, the ninth member to receive the honour.
‘The honour recognises that some members’ impact has been so great it has transformed the organisation, and in turn transformed the way pharmacy is practised in this country.
‘Today it is a local hero who is formally elevated to the title of Distinguished Fellow.’
A former Vice President of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, Professor Coombes is one of only three members to have received all three of AdPha’s most prestigious awards. A widely published researcher, international ambassador for Australian hospital pharmacy and champion of medication safety, his vision of professional development embedded in everyday pharmacy practice has shaped the training and recognition models that define pharmacy career paths today.
The opening plenary also featured an address from the Hon. Emma McBride MP FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt, MentalHlth), Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, and former Chief Pharmacist at Wyong Hospital who reflected on the lasting impact pharmacists have on patients’ lives beyond policy and health system reform.
‘While reforms to the sector matter, most Australians won’t remember the policy paper - they will remember you, the pharmacist who took an extra minute, who spotted a problem before it became a crisis, who helped them when they needed it most.’
Medicines Management 2026 (MM2026) is currently taking place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, 22-24 October.