Drug (Medication) Allergy Program
Aims and Objectives
Develop drug (medication) allergy delabeling guidelines to support health professionals in the assessment and management of patients labelled with a drug (medication) allergy.
Improve the recording of drug allergies in patient medical records to provide accurate and useful information
Establish consistent language to describe drug (medication) allergies in patient medical records
Develop nationally standardised drug (medication) allergy training materials for health professionals (with support from ASCIA).
Support people with an allergy to effectively self-manage their drug allergies (with support from Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia).
How are we working towards this?
Standardising drug (medication) allergy terminology.
Partnering with ASCIA to develop standardised drug (medication) allergy terminology through engagement with clinical immunology/allergy specialists, allergy nurses, general practitioners, anaesthetists and pharmacists.
Developing drug (medication) allergy delabeling guidelines for children and adults:
Partnering with ASCIA to develop ASCIA guidelines with evidence support from National Allergy Centre of Excellence.
Engaging with healthcare professionals with drug allergy expertise.
Improving electronic documentation of drug (medication) allergy:
Standardising drug (medication) allergy terminology in electronic health records through healthcare professional engagement.
Improving drug (medication) allergy documentation through engagement with the Australian Digital Health Agency and Sparked.
Developing best practice guidelines for the documentation of allergy information in electronic health records.
Development of an antibiotic allergy communication strategy:
Engaging with healthcare professionals, people with an allergy and carers of people with an allergy to understand the issues relating to confirming antibiotic allergy status.
Conducting focus groups with and healthcare professionals, people with an allergy and carers of people with an allergy to identify a brand and key messages to support an antibiotic allergy communication strategy.
Developing resources and a social media campaign as part of the antibiotic allergy communication strategy.
Target Audience
Healthcare professionals including clinical allergy/immunology specialists, paediatricians, general practitioners, pharmacists and dermatologists.
People with an allergy and carers of people with allergy.
What we have achieved so far
Reached consensus on nationally standardised drug allergy terminology through an expert panel
Reached consensus on recommendations to be included in a penicillin allergy delabeling guideline for adults through an expert panel
Conducted 7 focus groups with healthcare professionals, people with an allergy and carers of people with an allergy to identify a brand and key messages for an antibiotic allergy communication strategy.
Planned future work
Engagement with Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC) to align antibiotic allergy communication strategy with national antimicrobial stewardship programs.
Develop and disseminate penicillin allergy delabeling guidelines for adults and children (with support from ASCIA).
Implemention and training of nationally standardised drug allergy terminology among healthcare professionals (with support from ASCIA).
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Importance
Why is it important to standardise drug allergy management?
Many people are considered to be allergic to one or more drugs, most commonly antibiotics, usually because they have had adverse symptoms or a reaction whilst taking the drug. In some cases, this is valid, and the drug should be avoided. However, in many cases the person is not truly allergic because the symptoms were not actually caused by the drug, but rather 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 spurious information (e.g. the wrong drug, or a family member with allergy).
Confirmation or clarification of drug allergy reduces costs by allowing basic, safe and cheaper drugs (particularly antibiotics) to be used in those who are not allergic, which might otherwise be avoided unnecessarily. It prevents complications, results in shorter hospital stays, reduces readmissions and reduces the rate of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (in the case of antibiotics) in the community.
Developing minimum standards will help to standardise clinical practice and optimise patient safety.
Our focus
Why are we focusing on antibiotic allergies?
Antibiotic allergies are commonly reported, even though only one in 10 people reporting an antibiotic allergy are truly allergic. Patients 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 will help to improve their health outcomes.
The National Allergy Council is developing an antibiotic allergy communication strategy to educate healthcare professionals and consumers. We will also develop helpful resources to support healthcare professionals and consumers in managing antibiotic allergies. To underpin this communication strategy, ASCIA as the peak medical body for allergy in Australia has developed guidelines. The development of the guidelines has been a collaboration between ASCIA, the National Allergy Council, the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia.
To help inform the communication strategy, the National Allergy Council conducted several online focus (discussion) group sessions (the Communicating about Antibiotic Allergy Study) in July and August 2025. Approval to conduct this research has been provided by the University of Western Australia, in accordance with its ethics review and approval procedures.
