Mon 17 March 2025
New edition and a new era for Don’t Rush to Crush
Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) today released a new edition of Don’t Rush to Crush, Australia’s essential guide to safely administering oral medicines to people with enteral feeding tubes or swallowing difficulties, marking the shift to a fully digital resource.
Included in the Pharmacy Board of Australia’s list of essential references for pharmacy practice, Don’t Rush to Crush+ now includes comprehensive information on more than 600 oral medicines available in Australia, and is accessible via the eMIMS and AusDI platforms.
AdPha President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says the shift to cease printing reflects growing user preference to access the resource online, while enabling more detail and more regular updates.
‘We’re pleased to re-launch Don’t Rush to Crush+, with the online format enabling a more flexible and targeted presentation of monographs and an agile response to changes and new information.
‘Updates to monographs will now be released four times a year, with focus on a different therapeutic class each quarter.
‘The shift respects that health professionals and trainees – including pharmacists and pharmacy students, nurses and nursing students, health professionals in aged care, speech pathologists and dietitians – prefer the accessibility and convenience of online information.
‘While we may still print Don’t Rush to Crush on-demand or to aid accessibility, the move represents a more environmentally sustainable approach to this staple of patient care in Australia.'
Dr Lisa Pont FANZCAP (Edu.GeriMed), Chair of the Don’t Rush to Crush Editorial Committee and member of the AdPha Geriatric Medicine Leadership Committee, says the new edition increases focus on patient safety, informed by collaborative research.
'The recommendations in Don’t Rush to Crush+ are informed by our most comprehensive dispersion testing of tablets and capsules to date, with more than 160 medicines tested for physical suitability of administration into enteral feeding tubes, in partnership with the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at University of Tasmania. Testing of another 150+ medicines is underway, to inform future updates.
‘The new edition also clearly highlights tablets or capsules thaDon’t Rush to Crush+ is now available via the eMIMS and AusDI platforms.t are considered large, given evidence that suggests large tablets and capsules may increase the risk of choking, even for people without recognised swallowing difficulties.’
Don’t Rush to Crush+ is now available via the eMIMS and AusDI platforms.