Medicines line: telephone service

by | Medicines, Pharmacy Care

Medicines Line (1300 MEDICINE) is a national telephone service which provides Australians with trusted information about their medicines, including prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary medicines, including herbal, natural medicines and vitamins.

Callers can ask an experienced registered nurse their medicine-related questions. The question may be answered on the spot, or you may be referred to your GP or pharmacist. Complex enquiries may be answered by an NPS (National Prescribing Service) pharmacist.

The National Prescribing Service (NPS) collaborates with healthdirect Australia to deliver Medicines Line. You can call Medicines Line from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call (calls from mobiles may cost more).

Medicines Line
1300 MEDICINE

1300 633 424

Monday to Friday
9am to 5pm EST

Excluding NSW public holidays

What information is provided by Medicines Line?

Medicines line provides information on:

  • how medicines work
  • how to take medicines
  • side effects of medicines
  • medicine interactions
  • pregnancy and breastfeeding and medicines
  • medicines for children
  • storage of medicines
  • Consumer Medicines Information (CMI) leaflets for medicines
  • support organisations
  • quality use of medicines
  • responsible use of medicines

Medicines Line does NOT cover emergencies or poisonings

For general emergencies, call 000

For poisoning emergencies, such as a suspected overdose or poisoning, call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26

As well as giving you information, the Medicines Line will encourage you to discuss this information with your own doctor or pharmacist, who is trained to interpret the information.

Privacy

If for any reason you have concerns about privacy, you can raise them with the health professional on the Medicines Line, or read the Privacy Policy regarding collection of personal information, on the Medicines Line web site.