For Injured People
Not sure where to get a medication review? Australia has five main pathways: your community pharmacy, a home visit, telehealth, aged care programs, and insurer funded reviews on injury claims.
Every pathway ends the same way, with a pharmacist looking carefully at everything you take and reporting to your doctor. What differs is where it happens, who arranges it, and how deep it goes. This guide covers all five so you can pick the right door.
Your five options for where to get a medication review
| Pathway | Where | Arranged by | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MedsCheck | Community pharmacy | You, no referral | A quick check of five or more medicines |
| Home Medicines Review (HMR) | Your home | Your GP or specialist | Complex lists and chronic conditions |
| RMMR | Aged care facility | The resident's doctor | Aged care residents |
| Telehealth review | Phone or video | Depends on program | Rural, remote, or housebound people |
| Insurer funded review | Usually by phone | Your case manager | Medicines on a compensation claim |
At your community pharmacy: MedsCheck
The easiest starting point for a medication review Australia wide is the MedsCheck pharmacy program. You ask your pharmacist, no referral needed, and sit down in a private area of the pharmacy for a structured conversation about your medicines. It is free if you hold a Medicare or DVA card, live at home, and take five or more prescription medicines, recently had a significant medical event, or take a high risk medicine. One per 12 months.
In your home: the Home Medicines Review
The home medicines review is the deep clean. Your GP or an eligible specialist refers you, a credentialed pharmacist visits your home, and every medicine gets examined: prescriptions, over the counter products, vitamins, and the box of leftovers in the kitchen drawer. The pharmacist reports to your GP, who works the findings into your care plan. It is free, generally once every 24 months, and worth asking about if your list has grown past a handful of medicines or you have recently left hospital.
In residential aged care: RMMR
For people living in aged care, the residential medication management review takes over from the HMR. The resident's doctor refers, an accredited pharmacist reviews the chart and medicines in the facility, and the findings go back to the prescriber. Families can ask the facility or the GP to arrange one, and it is a sensible request after any hospital stay, fall, or noticeable change in alertness.
By phone or video: telehealth reviews
Distance no longer rules you out. Program rules allow a telehealth medication review by video or teleconference in defined circumstances, which matters for rural and remote Australians and anyone who cannot easily leave home. Insurer funded reviews go further still, because the pharmacist interview is routinely done by phone wherever you live. If travel is the reason you have been putting a review off, it no longer needs to be.
On an injury claim: insurer funded reviews
If your medicines are prescribed for a work injury or a road accident injury, a medication review injury claim pathway exists that most people have never heard of. The insurer funds an independent pharmacist review as a service on the claim: no referral, no cost to you, and no trip to a pharmacy. The pharmacist speaks with you by phone, reviews the complete list from every prescriber on the file, and sends recommendations to your treating doctor. Ask your case manager whether your claim can fund one.
Rule of thumb: quick question, ask your pharmacist. Growing list, ask your GP. Medicines on a claim, ask your case manager. Whichever door you choose, the review is free and your own doctor keeps the final say.
Does your state change anything?
For the government funded programs, no. HMR, MedsCheck, and RMMR are national programs with the same rules in every state and territory. What changes by state is the compensation scheme sitting behind an injury claim: SIRA and icare in NSW, WorkSafe Victoria and the TAC, WorkCover Queensland and MAIC, and their counterparts elsewhere. Each scheme has its own funding rules, but all of them can fund medication reviews on claims, and the practical step for you is the same everywhere: ask the case manager.
Key Takeaways
- Australia has five medication review pathways: MedsCheck, HMR, RMMR, telehealth, and insurer funded reviews on claims.
- A MedsCheck needs no referral and happens at your community pharmacy at no cost.
- An HMR is the most thorough government option and starts with a referral from your GP or specialist.
- Telehealth options mean rural, remote, and housebound people are no longer locked out of reviews.
- On a workers compensation or CTP claim, the insurer can fund an independent review, arranged by your case manager.
- Government program rules are national; only the injury schemes differ from state to state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just walk into any pharmacy and ask for a medication review?
Yes. Any community pharmacy offering the MedsCheck program can book you in, and no referral is needed. Eligibility requires a Medicare or DVA card and either five or more prescription medicines, a recent significant medical event, or a high risk medicine.
Which review is the most thorough?
The Home Medicines Review and insurer funded independent reviews are the most comprehensive, because the pharmacist sees the full list from every prescriber and writes a detailed report to your doctor.
Do the rules change from state to state?
The government funded programs are national, so HMR and MedsCheck rules are the same everywhere. What changes by state is the injury scheme: each workers compensation and CTP scheme has its own regulator and funding rules for reviews on claims.
What should I bring to a medication review?
Bring every medicine you take, including over the counter products, vitamins, and supplements, plus your Medicare or DVA card. If you have a claim, your claim number helps the pharmacist link the review correctly.
Primary source: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing medication management programs, administered by the Pharmacy Programs Administrator, 2026.
