Drug (Medication) Allergy Program

• Support general practitioners (GPs) to assess and manage low risk patients with a penicillin allergy label, by providing access to guidelines, training and support from specialists.

• Develop evidence-based drug (medication) allergy training materials for health professionals (with support from ASCIA).

• Encourage people that are thought to be allergic to penicillin to talk to their GP about having their penicillin allergy assessed (with support from Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia).

• Improve the recording of drug allergies in patient medical records to ensure information is accurate, consistent and can be easily accessed and shared across different healthcare settings.

• Establish consistent language to describe drug (medication) allergies in patient medical records.

• Reached consensus on nationally standardised drug allergy terminology through an expert panel.

• Developed and published Guidelines for the management of adult penicillin allergy in community and specialist settings in Australia and New Zealand.

• Engaged with healthcare professionals, people with an allergy and carers of people with an allergy to understand the barriers associated with confirming penicillin allergy.

• Delivered a penicillin allergy awareness campaign to encourage people believed to be penicillin allergic to talk to their GP about having their penicillin allergy checked, and to provide healthcare professionals with resources to assess and manage these patients.

• Engage with Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) to align the penicillin allergy awareness campaign with national antimicrobial stewardship programs.

• Develop and disseminate penicillin allergy delabeling guidelines for children (with support from ASCIA).

• Implement and deliver training on nationally standardised drug allergy terminology among healthcare professionals (with support from ASCIA).

Many people are considered to be allergic to one or more medications, most commonly antibiotics, usually because they have had adverse symptoms or a reaction while taking the medication. In some cases, this is a true allergy, and the medication should be avoided. However, in many cases the person is not truly allergic because the symptoms were not actually caused by the medication, but rather by the illness they had at the time (e.g. virus). Furthermore, the perception of allergy might be based on childhood reactions that are no longer relevant, or on entirely incorrect information (e.g. the wrong drug, or a family member with an allergy).

Accurate assessment and clarification of drug allergies can reduce healthcare costs by enabling people who are not allergic to access appropriate, first-line and often less expensive medications (particularly antibiotics), rather than unnecessarily avoiding them. This can prevent complications, shorten hospital stays, reduce hospital readmissions and, in the case of antibiotics, help reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Developing minimum standards will help standardise clinical practice and optimise patient safety.

Antibiotic allergies are commonly reported, even though only approximately one in 10 people who report an antibiotic allergy are truly allergic. People who report an allergy to penicillin in particular, have more recurrent infections, longer hospital stays, more re-admissions and poorer health outcomes. It is important to confirm whether a person is truly allergic to antibiotics for both safety reasons and enabling access to appropriate antibiotics. People who are confirmed as being allergic will need to continue to avoid the antibiotic. People who are confirmed not allergic will be able to access antibiotics they no longer need to avoid which may help to improve their health outcomes.

The National Allergy Council has implemented a penicillin allergy awareness campaign targeting healthcare professionals and consumers. We have also developed resources to support healthcare professionals and consumers in the assessment and management of penicillin allergies.

To support this work, guidelines for the management of adult penicillin allergy in community and specialist settings have been developed through collaboration between ASCIA, the National Allergy Council, the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia.