Medicine Brand Choices Campaign

15 April 2011

The next phase of the National Prescribing Service (NPS) Be Medicinewise campaign was launched on Sunday 3 April and focuses on medicine safety when there are different brands of the same medicine.

This campaign aims to educate people about the difference between a brand name and the active ingredient in medicines and where to find the active ingredient on the medicine packet or label.

The NPS is providing information to explain the differences in medicines names and help consumers understand why there is often a choice between brands.

New content to help consumers identify the active ingredient in their medicines and have confidence when making brand choices is available on the NPS website and resources will be available from pharmacies over the coming months.  You can also follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

NPS will be launching a new application for iPhone and iPad to help people manage their medicines.  The application is a digital version of the NPS Medicines List and prompts people to find and identify the active ingredient and brand name of their medicines.

The NPS is an independent organisation funded by the Department of Health and Ageing to provide evidence-based medicine information and tools for health professionals and consumers.

Government funding for this campaign will be provided over the next three years. The advertising, messaging and resources will continue to evolve and be informed by ongoing evaluation of each phase.