Acknowledgment of Country, Welcome, and Introduction to Conference

Risk Management – How to Find Credible Information

This opening session provides essential tips on how to find and utilise the most up-to-date and credible information on medicines to ensure you are making informed therapeutic decisions. It includes:

• Why is teamwork the basis for the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) framework?
• Where can we find sources of correct medicines information quickly?
• What are the major changes to the scheduling of medicines and associated MBS implications?
• Have there been any recent alerts issued by the TGA?

Diabetes Medicines – 2020 Update

While some of the management of diabetes may be initially possible through changes to lifestyle, treatment with medication is usually required. This session reviews the new types of glucose-lowering medicines that are currently used to diabetes mellitus and includes:

• What new medicines are available for type 2 diabetes?
• How do we now prescribe medicines for type 2 diabetes?
• What new insulins are available?
• Are new medicines on the horizon?

Translating Evidence into Everyday Practice - Management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain

Nurse practitioners play a key role in the management of chronic non-cancer pain. This key session will:

• Update on the science of chronic non-cancer pain and current treatment approaches
• Discuss practical approaches to applying the current science to everyday practice
• Understand the role of nurse practitioners in the management of chronic non-cancer pain

Asthma – 2020 Treatment Update

Patient outcomes require that Nurse Practitioners are familiar with current treatment options for asthma. This session will focus on providing an evidenced update for the treatment of asthma, with a brief look at allergic rhinitis and aspirin-induced respiratory disease. It includes a review of current medications used in asthma. Discuss:

• How do you manage asthma in adults?
• What are the latest changes to treatment guidelines for the management of asthma?

BREAKOUT ROOMS Select One

Breakout Room One – Older Adults

Potentially Inappropriate Medicines and Older Adults

The prescribing of potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs) to older people is a serious concern. Continuing to use medicines when there is poor evidence of a benefit, places older people and the prescriber at great risk. This session is based on a case presentation and will address:

• How pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics alter as people age and what this means for the prescriber
• Titrating medicines as a person ages
• Deprescribing long-term medicines
• Proton pump inhibitors
• Antipsychotics

Breakout Room Two – Opioid Epidemic

Getting Real with the Opioid Epidemic

The opioid crisis rocking North America has led to widespread international coverage. What is the current state of play in Australia? This session will bring you up to speed on the topic and will:

• Discuss the current state of the opioid epidemic in Australia
• Evaluate the current evidence of opioids in pain management
• Understand the role of nurse practitioners in opioid rationalisation

Breakout Room Three – Gout

All About GOUT – Practical Approach to Management

Gout is a common inflammatory condition within joints. Gout is often considered “unimportant” and is associated with many myths and misconceptions. This session provides a practical approach to the management of gout. The session topics include:

• Discussing the pathophysiology of gout, its risk factors, and long-term complications
• Evaluating appropriate treatment to reach target serum urate levels
• Advising patients on nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to care

Aspirin in the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

The benefits of low-dose aspirin use for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is well established. Up until recently, mixed data leaned toward a benefit for primary prevention as well. This presentation will discuss the results of three recent large-scale trials that indicate a greater harm than benefit for initiating aspirin treatment in older adults for primary prevention. Session objectives include:

• To interpret the latest trial data on the use of aspirin for primary cardioprevention
• To identify patients who are likely to benefit from aspirin therapy to reduce their risk of cardiovascular events

Announcements and Welcome to Day Two of Conference

Drug Interactions – Detection, Prediction and Prevention: When to Make a Fuss

Drug interactions require a triage approach. When do you need to make a fuss? This session will discuss the detection, prediction and prevention of drug interactions and includes:

• What do you need to know about drug interactions?
• Where can Nurse Practitioners get credible information on drug interactions (quickly)?
• Which interactions between complementary medicine and conventional medicines should you be on alert for?

Safe Prescribing in Chronic Liver Disease – Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Considerations

A significant number of Australians are living with chronic liver disease and may experience variable changes in drug metabolism and elimination. Understanding the implications is essential for prescribers to ensure medication safety. This session discusses:

• Liver function tests and when to trust them
• The spectrum of chronic liver disease and hepatic impairment
• Practical considerations for nurse prescribers in the real world

BREAKOUT ROOMS Select One

Breakout Room One - Paediatrics

Paediatric Prescribing – Contemporary Challenges

Prescribing medicines for children takes into account many factors. This session will review paediatric prescribing decision-making and focus on:

• The impact of pharmacokinetics and dynamics on dosing – transitioning from neonate to adolescent
• Dosing and dose forms in underweight and overweight children
• Children as therapeutic orphans and implications for prescribing
• Review of the core principles of safe prescribing in children

Breakout Room Two – Diabetes

Insulin Workshop

This practical workshop will review three complex case studies. Collaboratively, you will work through situations that require key pharmacology and prescribing considerations. It includes the following scenarios:

• A person with type 2 diabetes mellitus who needs to commence insulin
• A person with type 2 diabetes mellitus who requires an intensification of their current treatment regime
• A person with newly diagnosed steroid-induced diabetes mellitus

Breakout Room Three – Allergies

Penicillin Allergies and Antimicrobial Stewardship

Many patients are falsely labelled with a penicillin allergy despite not reacting to it. This is creating havoc in the current challenge of antimicrobial resistance. How can we responsibly prescribe to patients who claim to have a penicillin (or other antibiotic) allergy? This session will discuss:

• Is it an allergy or adverse reaction?
• Which allergies require lifelong avoidance and which do not?
• Why is now the time to unlearn everything you’ve ever learnt about penicillin allergies?

BREAKOUT ROOMS Select One

Breakout Room One – COPD

COPD Inhalers – Avoiding “Lucky Dip”

Inhaled therapy forms the cornerstone of maintenance pharmacotherapy for COPD. Inhaler options have expanded rapidly with new medicines, generics of old drugs, new devices and combinations with two and three drug classes. Greater choice is welcomed but when prescribed without a coherent framework for selection, the complexity can lead to confusion for clinicians and patients and worse outcomes. This session will:

• Outline a prescribing framework
• Address the associated issues of inhaled therapy in COPD

Breakout Room Two – Pregnancy

Prescribing for Women – Transition from Pregnancy to Lactation – 2020 Update

This session looks at the key concepts and challenges for safe prescribing during pregnancy and lactation. It includes:

• A review of the key pharmacological concepts required for evidenced-approaches to prescribing during pregnancy and breastfeeding
• How to navigate off-label and unlicensed medicines
• Case studies to link theory to your practice

Breakout Room Three – Mental Health

Starting, Switching and Stopping Antidepressants

This session will highlight the issues surrounding the prescription of antidepressants. Moreover, it will demonstrate how to overcome these issues to achieve safe and effective pharmacotherapeutic outcomes. It includes:

• Making therapeutic decisions
• Considerations for antidepressant use in adolescents
• What guides selection of an antidepressant

Toxicology and Tattoos

Most tattoo-related health and safety guidance centres on hygiene and the prevention of infections. Despite the increase in popularity, little consideration is given to the toxicological risks of ingredients used in tattoos. This final session reveals:

• What ingredients are used in tattoo ink?
• Are they safe?
• Can medicines cause tattooing?
• What are the acute and chronic health risks of tattoos?