These Guiding Principles and Resources are designed to provide entities within NSW public hospitals responsible for medication management services including DTCS and pharmacy departments, as well as relevant clinicians and consumers a framework to facilitate: > ongoing timely access to high cost and/or complex medicines and > seamless transfer of relevant information regarding these medicines, in order to ensure appropriate, effective and safe use of medicines as the young person transitions from paediatric care services to adult care services.

Full document – Version 2 (Sep 2023) – here

Supporting Resource 1 – Patient categories where notification is required (summary table) – here

Supporting Resource 2 – PATCH-Me Form [word] [PDF fillable]

Supporting Resource 4 – First Contact Points for Pharmacy/ Medications Communications regarding a Young Person Transitioning from Paediatric Care to Adult Care [PDF]

This document was developed to assist NSW hospital pharmacy departments with their understanding of activity based funding (ABF) processes as well as clarify issues related to pharmacy costs and funding for outpatient supply of medicines and associated services and products.

Click here to download

Contrast Induced Nephropathy (CIN) prevention and management are areas of emerging evidence and changing clinical practice. The purpose of this guidance is to assist clinicians, guideline developers and policymakers in NSW public hospitals regarding medication-specific considerations in the prevention and management of CIN. It is designed to be read in conjunction with and to complement information released in 2016 by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) and in 2017 by the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI). The recommendations have been informed by recent published evidence and best practice guidelines from expert bodies.

Click here to download

This practical guidance on the rational use of opioids is intended to assist clinicians to manage the complex medical, ethical and regulatory issues that arise when using opioids for chronic pain in adults in primary care. It is based on the best available evidence or expert consensus where research evidence is lacking. The following members of the Expert Advisory Group provided expertise in pain medicine, addiction medicine, paediatric, adult and geriatric clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, regulatory management of drugs of addiction, general practice, health technology assessment and medicines evaluation and clinical pharmacy: Prof Milton Cohen (Chair), Mr Phillip Bannon, Dr Sasha Bennett, Ms Anna Drew, Dr Chris Hayes, Ms Aine Heaney, Prof Sarah Hilmer, Dr Simon Holliday, Dr Greg Kelly, Ms Judith Mackson, Dr Bridin Murnion and Dr Hester Wilson.

Click here to download.

Overview of opioid medicines and chronic non-cancer pain – link

Choosing Wisely Australia Patient Leaflet: 5 Questions To Ask About Using Opioids For Back Pain Or Osteoarthritis (October 2020) – link

In 2002, NSW TAG published prescribing guidelines intended to assist general practitioners and other primary care clinicians managing patients with pain. They focus on the rational use of opioids in migraine and low back pain. Patient Information Brochures for chronic pain, migraine and low back pain were also published.

• Patient Information Brochure for Management of Chronic Pain (December 2002) [PDF]
• Migraine Guidelines for GPs (December 2002) [PDF]
• Patient Information Brochure for Migraine (December 2002) [PDF]
• Low Back Pain Guidelines for GPs (December 2002) [PDF]
• Patient Information Brochure for Low Back Pain (December 2002) [PDF]