States of confusion: Jurisdictional variation in Australian medicines nomenclature

Abstract

In December 2000, the Galbally Review recommended Australia achieve national uniformity in drugs and poisons legislation. While the Commonwealth Poisons Standard classifies and schedules medicines and poisons, the Australian States and Territories are responsible for regulating the supply of medicines and poisons through individual medicines legislation. In December 2013, this legislation was examined to identify the nomenclature used to describe medicines and poisons. The research found considerable variation across jurisdictions in terms of the nomenclature used, in particular the terms used for Schedules in the State and Territory legislation were often inconsistent with each other and to the terms used in the Poisons Standard. Of most concern is that the same term may be used to describe different medicines in different jurisdictions, leading to possible confusion for health practitioners working across jurisdictions as is now possible under national registration. It is therefore imperative that national uniformity of drugs and poisons legislation is achieved to facilitate a common practice reference.