MedsAware 2025
In 2025, MedsAware turns its attention towards sustainability highlighting the benefits of deprescribing that can be felt all around us – for patient and planet.
MedsAware 2026
There has never been more information available at our fingertips, but when it comes to our health, we can't take shortcuts.
In an environment where patients are exposed to conflicting, inaccurate or misleading information about medicines, health professionals play a vital role in ensuring decisions about medication use are informed, evidence-based and person-centred.
Medicines can affect each of us in different ways — pharmacists and their health professional colleagues are uniquely and expertly trained to consider the whole person in all aspects of care.
In 2026, AdPha's MedsAware: Deprescribing Action Week is asking are you MedsAware or misinformed?
What is MedAware Deprescribing Action Week?
MedsAware is AdPha's Deprescribing Action Week, raising awareness around polypharmacy and deprescribing.
‘Polypharmacy’ refers to the use of multiple medicines, usually defined as the use of five or more regular medicines.
‘Deprescribing’ describes the process of discontinuing medicines that are no longer required, or for which the risk of harm outweighs the benefits in the individual.
Medicines can have important benefits in curing and preventing diseases and improving symptoms. However, the potential benefits and harms of medicines can change over time as a person ages, acquires new medical conditions, takes new medicines and changes their care goals. Therefore, medicines should be regularly reviewed to make sure that they are still of benefit, and not causing any harms.
With the support of our national and international partners, MedsAware 2026 reinforces a simple but vital message: deprescribing should always occur through informed conversations with a qualified health professional - because when it comes to our health, there are no shortcuts.
The volume of misinformation people encounter online is staggering
There has never been more health information available at our fingertips, with artificial intelligence accelerating both the speed and volume of content. However, as access to information grows, so too does the risk of exposure to misinformation.
Seven percent of all daily Google searches are health-related, with 70,000 healthcare searches performed every minute1
More than 230 million people ask health and wellness questions on ChatGPT every week2
Research from the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows 72 per cent of Australian adults who used a digital platform in the first half of 2025 believe they encountered some form of misinformation on a platform with health and medical information.3
Recent Research from Western Sydney University reveals 97 percent of adult Australians have poor or limited ability to verify information online4
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Supporting your patients to be MedsAware: separating facts from fiction to assist deprescribing
AI is strengthening in speed and accuracy every day, but there is no substitute for human knowledge.
Medicines can affect each of us in different ways — pharmacists and their health professional colleagues are uniquely and expertly trained to consider the whole person in all aspects of care.
In 2026, AdPha's MedsAware: Deprescribing Action Week asks are you MedsAware or misinformed?
References
1. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/03/10/google-sifting-one-billion-health-questions-day/
2. https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-health/
3. https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2025-11/report/communications-and-media-australia-how-we-encounter-misinformation
4. Online misinformation in Australia, 3 Dec 2024 - https://apo.org.au/node/328959
From the President:
‘Deprescribing is in the DNA of AdPha, Australia’s pharmacy organisation for team-based, specialty pharmacist care.
‘The world’s first published use of “deprescribing” was in our flagship Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (JPPR) 20 years ago, in ‘Deprescribing: Achieving Better Health Outcomes for Older People through Reducing Medications’.
‘As medicines experts, pharmacists are best placed to detect and prevent inappropriate use of high-risk medicines, including antipsychotics, that are widespread in residential aged care facilities.
'MedsAware: Deprescribing Action Week seeks to empower Australians and their carers, family and friends, together with pharmacists, doctors and other care team members, to optimise every medicines regimen to ensure it is current, effective and safe.
‘We’re proud to lead the MedsAware message and work with our partners to embed deprescribing as a central principle of safe health care, to reduce polypharmacy and hyperpolypharmacy and ensure more Australians stay out of hospital.’
— AdPha President Assoc. Prof. Tom Simpson
Thank you to our MedsAware 2026 media partner AJP
In this Section
MedsAware 2024
MedsAware 'Ask because you care' empowers older Australians, Australian living with a disability and their care teams to ask health professionals ‘Could any of these medicines be doing more harm than good?’
MedsAware 2023
In our inaugural year, MedsAware raises awareness around polypharmacy and deprescribing encouraging Australians to check their medicines are current, effective and safe.