Purpose The aim of the project is to assess Home Medicine Review (HMR) activity across the Gold Coast and to identify potential barriers to the implementation of HMRs. The Gold Coast Division of General Practice has 135 general practices, serviced by 420 GPs, and 117 pharmacies throughout 52 suburbs. Medicare Australia currently reports HMR statistics in both general practice and pharmacy at a divisional level. As a result the exact distribution of HMR activity at a suburb level is unknown. The information provided by this project at a suburb level will be used to target specific demographical areas. The project also identifies barriers experienced by general practice, pharmacy and accredited pharmacists to implement HMRs. Accredited pharmacists play a major role in the provision of HMR services. However, it is not known whether the availability of accredited pharmacists comply with the demand. An analysis of accredited pharmacist workload and availability will assist in projecting future supply demands. Methods Data gathering will take place between 27 March and 14 April 2006, and will involve: 牓tructured telephone interviews with general practice managers and pharmacists to determine the extent of participation in the HMR program and barriers to implementation; and 牓emi-structured face-to-face interviews with a randomly selected sample of accredited pharmacists to determine: - their satisfaction with the support they receive locally and nationally to perform their role; - their intentions for the future; and - whether the number of reviews they carry out as an accredited pharmacist matches their expectations. Results Data will be available by the end of April 2006. Analysis of the data from the structured and semi-structured interviews will be used to triangulate themes. Conclusion Research indicates the need to improve quality use of medicines at a primary health care level. HMRs are a valuable tool to address medication-related problems and the evidence supports the value of HMR services. This project will provide quality information that will be used in planning the future development of the HMR program on the Gold Coast.