Headache and migraine

In a major move for people who experience migraines, four triptans will be down-scheduled to S3 medicines in February 2021. PSA has several opportunities to help you get up-to-date on this important practice change that follow the practice guidelines written by PSA.

Pharmacists are medicines experts and play a vital role in managing patients with headache and migraine, from recommending appropriate strategies for treatment, referring patients for medical review and counselling patients on the appropriate use of these medicines to reduce the risk of developing medication-overuse headache.

PSA offers members a variety of levels of education, from in-depth education to webinars and counselling guides, delivered through a mixture of printed and online materials.

Essential CPE – migraine

This Essential CPE, written by experts at the Headache Clinic Alfred Health, will support you to:

• Understand the complex topic of headache and migraine.
• Learn everything you need to know about headache and migraine, from the identification and classification of different types of headache, the pathophysiology behind migraine through to having a conversation with patients about appropriate use of medicines to treat migraine, including triptans.
• Put theory into practice with Knowledge to practice sections throughout
• Ensure your clinical knowledge is up to date with this comprehensive content.

Essential CPE – migraine will be released online in February and a hard copy will be included for all PSA members with the March 2021 edition of the Australian Pharmacist journal. Up to 12 CPD credits are available upon successful completion of this Essential CPE to add to a pharmacists CPD plan.

Webinar – Managing migraines with over-the-counter provisions of triptans

This webinar consists of two parts: Part 1 will explore the legislative and regulatory changes and part 2 will involve a panel of experts in the field, Dr Elspeth Hutton Head of services at Headache Clinic, Alfred Health and Dr Jason Ray, consultant neurologist and headache fellow. Part 2 will be a Q & A session, questions that you have submitted will be answered by the experts, we will also explore some case scenarios to put your knowledge into practice.

This webinar will give you the information you need when recommending and supplying these medicines to patients.

Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary – Headache and Migraine

The Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF) 25th edition and Digital APF contains an updated counselling guide on headache and migraine. The counselling guide covers all treatment options for the management of headache and migraine, allowing you to see the place in care of triptan medicines. The guide also covers symptoms for common types of headache, referral points, non-pharmacological management and other considerations.