General information
This guide is based on publicly available information from official sources, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Services Australia, Healthdirect and other Australian Government health and pharmacy bodies. It is general information, not personal medical advice, and may change over time. With any medicine, always read the label and use only as directed, and if symptoms persist see your doctor or health care professional. Check anything that affects you with your pharmacist or GP. In an emergency, call 000.
Last reviewed: 14th July 2026
A MedsCheck is a one-on-one medication review you have with a pharmacist inside the pharmacy, and a Home Medicines Review, or HMR, is a similar review that an accredited pharmacist carries out in your own home. Both are government-funded services that give a trained pharmacist time to go through every medicine you take, check that you understand each one, and pass any concerns back to your doctor.
The two reviews suit different situations. A MedsCheck is quick to arrange and needs no referral. An HMR is longer, happens where you actually store and take your medicines, and starts with a referral from your GP or an eligible specialist. This guide explains what each involves, who qualifies, and what the pharmacist does with what they find. For the wider set of services that help you manage your medicines, see our guide to medication management at the pharmacy.
Both reviews are funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and administered by the Pharmacy Programs Administrator under the Community Pharmacy Agreement between the government and the pharmacy sector.
What a MedsCheck covers
A MedsCheck is an in-pharmacy review carried out by a pharmacist in a private consultation area set apart from the shop floor, so you can talk without being overheard. The Pharmacy Programs Administrator describes it as a review of your medicines that aims to improve how well you understand and use them. You do not need a referral, and there is no charge if you are eligible.
The pharmacist goes through each medicine you take, prescription and over-the-counter, along with any vitamins or complementary products. They check what each one is for, how and when you take it, what to watch for, and whether any combination could cause a problem. If something needs a prescriber's attention, they note it and suggest you follow up with your GP. The pharmacist does not change your prescription; that decision stays with the doctor who prescribed it.
A MedsCheck is usually a short appointment. You leave with a brief written action plan that sets out what you agreed to work on.
Who can have a MedsCheck
The Pharmacy Programs Administrator sets the funding rules. To have a government-funded MedsCheck, the administrator says you must be a current Medicare or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) cardholder, live at home in the community, and not have had a MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Review or Residential Medication Management Review in the previous 12 months. On top of that, at least one of three things applies: you take five or more prescription medicines; you have recently had a significant medical event that could affect how you manage them, such as a new diagnosis or a change in your health; or you take a medicine that carries a high risk of side effects.
The funded service is not available to people who are in hospital, living in residential aged care, or in a correctional facility. The review itself is free for eligible patients, though you still pay the normal cost of your medicines, including any Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) co-payment. If you do not meet the rules, or a pharmacy has already reached its monthly funded limit, it may still offer the review and charge you for it.
A funded MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck, Home Medicines Review and Residential Medication Management Review share a single yearly entitlement, so having any one of them uses up that year's allowance for the other three.
If keeping track of doses at home is the harder part for you, a pharmacist can also explain a dose administration aid or a blister pack like a Webster-pak.
What a Home Medicines Review adds
A Home Medicines Review goes further than a MedsCheck because it happens where you keep and take your medicines. An accredited pharmacist, one credentialed to carry out medication management reviews, visits you at home, spends longer with you than a pharmacy consultation allows, and writes a clinical report for your doctor.
Seeing your medicines in place tells the pharmacist what a short appointment cannot. They can spot old prescriptions still in the cupboard, medicines that need refrigeration sitting somewhere warm, or a dose routine that has drifted from what your doctor intended. The Pharmacy Programs Administrator describes the HMR as a patient interview, a clinical assessment, and a written report sent back to the referring doctor.
The program rules require the interview to take place in your home, apart from limited exceptions for cultural reasons or where there is a concern for the pharmacist's safety. If it is clinically needed, the pharmacist can carry out up to two follow-up visits.
Who can have a Home Medicines Review
An HMR starts with a referral. The Pharmacy Programs Administrator says your GP, or a specialist in pain medicine, a specialist physician, a psychiatrist or a specialist in palliative medicine, can write the referral once they decide there is a clear clinical need to review your medicines. You can ask your GP about a referral at an ordinary appointment.
You choose where the referral goes: to your usual community pharmacy, or to another provider, including an accredited pharmacist who works independently. As with a MedsCheck, an HMR is free for the patient and is not available while you are an in-patient in hospital or a resident of an aged care facility.
Under the program rules you can have an HMR once every 24 months. The administrator says more frequent reviews are possible when your condition or medicines change significantly, and adds that a review should be prompted by a genuine need rather than by the calendar.
The lists above are the funding rules, not a booking decision. A pharmacist or GP checks your eligibility first, and a Home Medicines Review only goes ahead once your GP or an eligible specialist has written a referral.
MedsCheck compared with a Home Medicines Review
The two reviews differ mainly in where they happen, who runs them, and how you get one.
| Feature | MedsCheck | Home Medicines Review |
|---|---|---|
| Where it happens | Private area in the pharmacy | Your home |
| Who conducts it | Community pharmacist | Accredited pharmacist |
| Referral | Not needed | GP or eligible specialist |
| Cost to eligible patients | No charge | No charge |
| How often | Not within 12 months of another funded review | Once every 24 months |
| Written report to your doctor | No | Yes |
Pharmacy Programs Administrator, MedsCheck and Home Medicines Review program pages.
What happens during the home visit
Once your doctor sends the referral, an HMR usually runs in this order.
- The accredited pharmacist contacts you to arrange a visit at a time that suits you.
- On the day, they ask to see every medicine you take, including anything left over from old prescriptions, vitamins, herbal products, and anything bought without a script.
- They talk through how you take each one, when, and what you understand it to be for.
- They check how your medicines are stored and flag anything kept in the wrong place or past its expiry.
- They ask about side effects you have noticed, anything you have stopped and why, and whether cost is a barrier to taking them.
- They leave you with a short summary and send the full report to your doctor.
The visit is private, and the pharmacist is bound by the same confidentiality rules as your GP.
It helps to gather a few things before the pharmacist arrives.
- Every medicine. Prescription boxes, including old ones still in the cupboard.
- Anything over the counter. Vitamins, herbal products, and medicines bought without a script.
- Notes on side effects. Anything you have noticed, or a medicine you have stopped and why.
- Any cost worries. Whether the price of a medicine makes it hard to keep taking.
What the pharmacist does with the findings
After the visit, the accredited pharmacist writes a report and sends it to the doctor who referred you. The report sets out any medicine interactions or duplications, doses that may be worth reviewing, adherence problems, storage issues, and recommendations for the doctor to consider.
Your GP then arranges a follow-up appointment to talk through the report with you and update your medicines plan. That GP appointment is a standard consultation, so normal Medicare billing applies; the pharmacist's home visit is the part that carries no charge. You can ask your GP for a copy of the report, which forms part of your health record.
Diabetes MedsCheck for type 2 diabetes
If you live with type 2 diabetes, a Diabetes MedsCheck is a version of the in-pharmacy review focused on your diabetes care. The Pharmacy Programs Administrator says it looks at how you use your diabetes medicines, helps with blood glucose self-monitoring, and works towards steadier blood glucose over time.
The eligibility is more specific. Under the program rules you need to be a Medicare or DVA cardholder living at home, be unable to reach existing diabetes education or health services in good time, and either have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the past 12 months or have type 2 diabetes that is not yet well controlled. The same 12-month rule applies: you cannot have had another funded medicine review in the previous year. The National Diabetes Services Scheme also runs free education sessions that sit alongside the service.
Reviews in residential aged care
If you live in a residential aged care home, a different service applies: the Residential Medication Management Review, or RMMR. An accredited pharmacist reviews your medicines at the facility rather than in a private home, and the aged care home arranges the referral with your doctor. Our guide to pharmacist services in aged care covers how this fits with the rest of your care.
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Frequently asked questions
Not when you meet the funding rules. Under the program, the Australian Government pays the pharmacy a set fee for each review, so an eligible patient is charged nothing for the review itself. The program also caps how many funded reviews a pharmacy can claim each month, which is why a pharmacy may ask you to wait, or, if you fall outside the rules, offer the review as a paid service.
