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Fred IT Group, Healthily, The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), and Healthy Bones Australia have officially launched a new national health literacy initiative designed to improve medication adherence and reduce bone fracture risk for Australians living with osteoporosis.

Supported by a $1.1 million Quality Use of Medicines, Consumer Health Literacy grant from the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the initiative is now live across participating pharmacies nationwide, delivering evidence-based osteoporosis education directly to patients at the point of dispensing.

‘We are incredibly proud to see this initiative now live in pharmacies across Australia,’ said Dr Tina Campbell, CEO Healthily.

‘We know that poor medication adherence is one of the biggest challenges in osteoporosis management, particularly for patients who may have limited access to clear and culturally appropriate health information. By delivering easy-to-understand resources directly to patients at the point of care, we are helping empower people to better manage their condition and stay on track with their treatment.’

Paul Naismith, CEO of Fred IT Group, said the launch highlights the important role technology can play in improving patient outcomes through community pharmacy. ‘This program demonstrates how digital innovation can make trusted health information more accessible to patients when they need it most,’ he said. ‘By embedding these educational resources into pharmacy workflows, we are supporting pharmacists to have more meaningful conversations with patients and helping ensure people living with osteoporosis feel informed and supported throughout their treatment journey.’

General Practitioner and Project Advisory Group member, Dr Peter Del Fante, said improving patient understanding of osteoporosis treatment is critical to preventing avoidable fractures and improving long-term health outcomes. ‘Osteoporosis is often described as a silent disease because many people do not realise the seriousness of the condition until they experience a fracture,’ Dr Del Fante said. ‘Improving health literacy and medication adherence is essential if we are to reduce the significant personal and healthcare burden associated with osteoporosis. This requires a collaborative approach between the patient, their general practitioner and their pharmacist. The program provides patients with trusted information via the pharmacy dispensing event and reinforces medicines information provided by the G.P at the time of prescribing.’

Community pharmacist, Ben Wilkins, said pharmacies are ideally placed to support patients with ongoing osteoporosis management.

‘Pharmacists play an important role in helping patients understand their medicines and the importance of remaining adherent to the prescribed treatment,’ Mr Wilkins said. ‘Having these tailored educational resources delivered directly to patients via their phone, complements the counselling we already provide in the community pharmacy. This gives patients additional support at their own learning pace.’

Aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Partnering with Consumers Standard and led by academic project partner The University of Western Australia, the resources were co-designed using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process. Development involved collaborative workshops with consumers, consumer representatives, healthcare professionals, and clinical content experts to ensure the resources are evidence-based, accessible, and responsive to the diverse needs of patients living with osteoporosis. The project is expected to reach 30,000 Australians through approximately 500 participating pharmacies over the next 12 months.