Australian and other resources for palliative care prescribing

• Therapeutic Guidelines – Palliative Care This is an authoritative handbook for prescribing palliative medications, and is available online in many hospitals. Go to this resource for detailed advice on managing symptoms in palliative care patients. 
• Online Palliative Medicine Handbook (UK) 
• Australian Medicines Handbook Provides general prescribing information. Also widely available online in hospitals and medical libraries.
• Cancer Pain Release Cancer Pain Release is the publication of the World Health Organization global communications program to improve cancer pain control and palliative and supportive care. Each edition discusses approaches to using various analgesics, and to prescribing for particular groups, for instance children and the elderly.
• Palliativedrugs.com British site which gives online access, on registering, to the Palliative Care Formulary.  Also contains articles discussing aspects of management, a compendium of protocols, audit tools and other research tools, and a bulletin board for palliative care practitioners. The bulletin board is un-moderated, and the comments on the board vary from identifying high quality data that is published in the peer reviewed literature to unsubstantiated anecdote. Visitors need to exercise their critical appraisal skills and clinical judgement in accessing the bulletin board.
• The National Prescribing Service This site provides information relating to new medications, to critical evaluation of prescribing practices, and to the quality use of medications. 
• Therapeutic Goods Administration Search the A to Z listing for information about the regulation of specific drugs and classes of drugs; includes information about complementary and alternative therapies and how they are regulated. There is also a section dealing with Palliative Care Benefits - Therapeutic Index.
• Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits    
• Palliative Care Benefits - Therapeutic Index This site lists the medicines available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and explains how they can be used in order to be subsidized. It includes the Palliative Care Benefits – Therapeutic Index.  
• Pain in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Management Strategies  (Australian Pain Society, August 2006) provides detailed, evidence based advice on pain management

Phone Numbers        
These phone numbers are contactable 24 hours a day for authority prescribing.

• PBS Authority prescriptions: Freecall 1800 888 333
• RPBS (DVA) Authority prescriptions: Freecall 1800 55 2580.

The Therapeutic Advice and Information Service (TAIS) is a telephone service provided by the National Prescribing Service for health professionals. It provides independent advice about drug interactions, adverse effects and off-licence prescribing.

• TAIS Freecall: 1300 138 677 (local call charge)

This page was last updated on 12 June 2006, and scheduled for review in June 2008
This page is currently under review.