Media Release – 25 May 2026
National osteoporosis health literacy program to support medicines knowledge, adherence and fracture prevention for 30,000 Australians
Healthily, Fred IT Group, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and Healthy Bones Australia work together to launch an Australia-wide osteoporosis health literacy initiative through community pharmacy.
Healthily, Fred IT Group, The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), and Healthy Bones Australia have officially launched a new national health literacy initiative designed to improve medication adherence and reduce bone fracture risk for Australians living with osteoporosis.
Supported by a $1.1 million Quality Use of Medicines, Consumer Health Literacy grant from the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the initiative is now live across participating pharmacies nationwide, delivering evidence-based osteoporosis education directly to patients at the point of dispensing.
Through the integration of Healthily’s patient education platform, GoShare, with Fred IT Group’s pharmacy dispensing software, Fred Dispense Plus, patients prescribed osteoporosis medicines will receive a series of five tailored educational resource packages over a six-month period via SMS at the time of dispensing. Delivered in five languages, the resources are designed to improve understanding of osteoporosis and its treatment, support long-term medication adherence, and help reduce preventable fractures and hospitalisations.
‘We are incredibly proud to see this initiative now live in pharmacies across Australia,’ said Dr Tina Campbell, CEO Healthily. ‘We know that poor medication adherence is one of the biggest challenges in osteoporosis management, particularly for patients who may have limited access to clear and culturally appropriate health information. By delivering easy-to-understand resources directly to patients at the point of care, we are helping empower people to better manage their condition and stay on track with their treatment.’
Paul Naismith, CEO of Fred IT Group, said the launch highlights the important role technology can play in improving patient outcomes through community pharmacy.
‘This program demonstrates how digital innovation can make trusted health information more accessible to patients when they need it most,’ he said. ‘By embedding these educational resources into pharmacy workflows, we are supporting pharmacists to have more meaningful conversations with patients and helping ensure people living with osteoporosis feel informed and supported throughout their treatment journey.’
General Practitioner and Project Advisory Group member, Dr Peter Del Fante, said improving patient understanding of osteoporosis treatment is critical to preventing avoidable fractures and improving long-term health outcomes.
‘Osteoporosis is often described as a silent disease because many people do not realise the seriousness of the condition until they experience a fracture,’ Dr Del Fante said. ‘Improving health literacy and medication adherence is essential if we are to reduce the significant personal and healthcare burden associated with osteoporosis. This requires a collaborative approach between the patient, their general practitioner and their pharmacist. The program provides patients with trusted information via the pharmacy dispensing event and reinforces medicines information provided by the G.P at the time of prescribing.’
Community pharmacist, Ben Wilkins, said pharmacies are ideally placed to support patients with ongoing osteoporosis management.
‘Pharmacists play an important role in helping patients understand their medicines and the importance of remaining adherent to the prescribed treatment,’ Mr Wilkins said. ‘Having these tailored educational resources delivered directly to patients via their phone, complements the counselling we already provide in the community pharmacy. This gives patients additional support at their own learning pace.’
Aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Partnering with Consumers Standard and led by academic project partner The University of Western Australia, the resources were co-designed using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process. Development involved collaborative workshops with consumers, consumer representatives, healthcare professionals, and clinical content experts to ensure the resources are evidence-based, accessible, and responsive to the diverse needs of patients living with osteoporosis. The project is expected to reach 30,000 Australians through approximately 500 participating pharmacies over the next 12 months.
The initiative is funded by the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing under the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology Program.
About Healthily
Healthily is an Australian health technology company specialising in digital patient education to improve health literacy and empower patients to play a more active role in their healthcare. Healthily’s platform, GoShare, enables health professionals to send their patients tailored health information by email, SMS and conversational voice AI.
About Fred IT Group
Fred IT Group is Australia’s largest provider of Pharmacy IT solutions, servicing more than 3000 pharmacies. Fred’s leadership in medication safety, management and eHealth during its 30 plus years includes electronic prescriptions, real-time prescription monitoring, cloud-based applications improving medication access and management, and the first digital script list.
About The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA)
PSA is the national Peak Body for Australia’s 41,000+ pharmacists, bringing together every pharmacist from every sector and connecting them with the resources and professional development they need to succeed. Through proactive advocacy, PSA ensures pharmacy will remain a rewarding and enjoyable career into the future.
About Healthy Bones Australia (HBA)
HBA is a national non-for-profit organisation and the peak body representing consumers living with osteoporosis. HBA is focused on increasing community and health professional awareness about poor bone health while promoting early diagnosis and improved management to prevent fractures. HBA advocates for osteoporosis to be a higher priority within Government health policy.
Media Contact:
Name: Dr Tina Campbell, CEO, Healthily
Phone: 0418 536 596
Email: tina.campbell@healthily.com.au
Pharmacies that use Fred Dispense Plus dispensing software and wish to participate in the Osteoporosis Consumer Health Literacy Program can register their interest via:
Registration Form for Osteoporosis Medication Health Literacy Program