What is the Veterans’ MATES program?

Since 2004, Veterans’ Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services (Veterans’ MATES) has supported the veteran community to improve their wellbeing through better use of medicines and related health services, and encouraging them to take an active role in better managing their health. The program encourages veterans’ use of under-used medicines, a reduction in the use of unnecessary medicines and a reduction in adverse medicine events.

Veterans’ MATES is a DVA initiative and provides regular updates to veterans and health professionals on health issues affecting the veteran community.

Each year, Veterans’ MATES focuses on at least four health topics and utilises DVA administrative claims data to identify members of the community who would benefit. This information is sent directly to the identified veterans and their health care providers. Recent topics include COVID-19 Oral Antiviral Medicines, Managing Persistent Pain and Tools for Mental Wellbeing. Resources on current and previous topics are available on the Veterans’ MATES website.

Around 150,000 DVA clients access pharmaceuticals each year. The program helps improve these veterans’ understanding of utilisation of medicine and achieve positive outcomes through early interventions, with approximately 77,000 DVA clients annually receiving educational material from Veterans’ MATES specific to their health care needs.

If you would like more information on Veterans’ MATES, or to view any of the previous topics, please visit their website.