Dr Jannine Bailey from the Bathurst Rural Clinical School of Medicine has received a grant of just over $48,000 from the HCF Research Foundation to conduct a research program at OAMS.

Dr Bailey said medication was not always best used among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

A home medicines review (HMR), where a pharmacist meets a client in their home and evaluates their use of medications before presenting a report to the client’s GP, can help but Dr Bailey said the current HMR program was quite restrictive and inadvertently made it difficult for some people to access a review.

Previous research has shown a strong desire among indigenous clients for the local Aboriginal Medical Service to be involved in the process.

Dr Bailey said there was already a push for changes to the HMR program, including better ways for Aboriginal Medical Services to be involved and hoped her research will add to the evidence.

“It would not only benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but other people who have similar access problems,” she said.

Dr Bailey said her research would focus on two main groups: those who have been discharged from hospital and those with long-term conditions, who are managing multiple medications.

She will look at the number of HMRs conducted over 12 months and their recommendations, and talk to patients and staff about what having access to the reviews means to them and any ideas about how the service model could be enhanced or adapted.

She said this was an area in which she long had a focus.

“Indigenous health has always been an interest and passion of mine,” Dr Bailey said.

The HCF Research Foundation is Australia’s leading non-government contributor to funding health services research.

The Bathurst Rural Clinical School of Medicine is a hub of the Western Sydney University's School of Medicine.