Pharmacists support national kidney emergency response
12 March 2026
On World Kidney Day, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), Australia’s peak body for pharmacists, has thrown its support behind Kidney Health Australia as it unveils its mandate for urgent action to change the trajectory of kidney disease in Australia.
PSA representatives were among the 140 stakeholders who joined the inaugural National Kidney Summit in October and contributed to the development of Kidney Code Red: The Response.
Pharmacists play a key role in detecting and preventing chronic kidney disease, which affects one in seven Australians, with more than 2.5 million people unaware they are living with signs of the incurable disease.
Often using Home Medicine Reviews (HMRs -where a credentialed pharmacist reviews and potentially adjusts the medications a person is taking) as a critical screening and diagnostic tool, pharmacists ensure the safe and effective use of medicines to support healthy kidney function.
“The latest national statistics from Kidney Health Australia are very sobering and, as frontline health professionals, we are seeing the growing incidence and consequences of kidney disease every day,” said PSA National President, Professor Mark Naunton MPS.
“However, as Kidney Health Australia has demonstrated in its landmark report, there are several levers available that could rapidly improve patient outcomes, and pharmacists look forward to working with other health professionals to eliminate the incidence of kidney disease as quickly and effectively as we can.
“Home Medicine Reviews, which need to be uncapped from the current 30 per month limit, are one of the best tools we have to make rapid interventions.”
Credentialed pharmacist, Tim Perry FPS, said spending time in a HMR with a 53-year-old male patient with rapidly declining kidney function was critical.
“He was not exactly engaged initially, but he listened with a bit more interest when I pointed out that everything is connected- diabetes, heart, kidneys. Sitting with him and showing him the steady decline in his kidney function made him start to think more about his long-term health and what was really important to him,” said Mr Perry.
“That initial Home Medicines Review was to review adherence, but led to a whole new medication regimen and, after several follow-ups (which are so crucial), saw his resolution go from ambivalent to increasingly positive about his long-term health. His commitment is now 100% – his kidney function is now stable, his diet has changed dramatically, and he now makes a point of taking his wife and dog for a walk when he gets home.”
The full report can be accessed here.
Media contact: Leah Jacobsen
M: 0480 099 798 E: leah.jacobsen@psa.org.au
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is the only national peak body that represents all of Australia’s pharmacists across all practice settings. We want every Australian to have access to the best healthcare, and this must include optimising access to pharmacists’ knowledge and medicines expertise at the forefront of our healthcare system.
