Electronic prescriptions

Overview

Electronic  prescriptions are a digitally enabled option for medication management in Australia. Electronic Prescriptions allow people to manage prescriptions electronically, increasing convenience and improving medication safety.

COVID-19 restrictions on community movements highlighted the great need Australia has for electronic prescriptions. As a result this accelerated the deliveryof electronic prescriptions, which became progressively available from the end of May 2020, and have been widely adopted by community pharmacy and general practice since late 2020. Hospitals and specialists are gradually adopting electronic prescribing as software conformant with electronic prescribing requirements become available

State specific information

All medicines may be prescribed via an electronic prescription in all Australian States and Territories. Jurisdictional regulations may apply to specific medicines and how these are prescribed in an electronic format. Click the buttons below for information on electronic prescriptions in your State or Territory.

Benefits

For your pharmacy electronic prescriptions:

• Increases medicine safety by reducing prescribing and dispensing errors
• Improves efficiency in prescribing and dispensing medicines
• Removes the need for handling and storing a physical paper prescription
• Supports digital health services such as telehealth services to ensure continuity of patient care
• Provides an opportunity to protect community members and staff from exposure to infectious diseases such as COVID-19
• Maintains patient privacy and integrity of personal information

Get your pharmacy ready now

If you are preparing a new pharmacy, or if your pharmacy has not adopted Electronic Prescribing yet, prepare your pharmacy now with the following checklist:

• Ensure your pharmacy has a Healthcare Provider Identifier-Organisation (HPI-O) and is connected to the HI service. This is a core requirement for electronic prescribing. Information about how to register your organisation for a HPI-O is available here
• Ensure your pharmacy is connected to an open Prescription Delivery Service via a prescription exchange service. Existing prescription exchange services include eRx and MediSecure
• Enable QR codes on your barcode scanners by following the manufacturer’s instructions
• Update your patients’ and their carers’ contact details on file (mobile phone number / email)
• Subscribe to your software provider newsletters and correspondence
• Stay up to date with communication from PSA
• Check to ensure you know any legal rules that are specific to your state or territory such as the management of controlled medicines
• Keep your staff informed about electronic prescribing and how they may respond to patient’s questions about electronic prescriptions

Further to the list above PSA has provided the below list of recommendations. These are not mandatory but may assist with improving the workflow in your pharmacy.

• Have a computer terminal at the script in counter to read scripts being received
• Have a computer terminal at the script out counter for the checking process
• If available enable electronic queue software by checking with your software vendor
• In the dispensary have dual screen to make it easier to view script while processing

Find out more

The following list of resources can help with further information to assist you with implementing electronic prescriptions in your pharmacy.

• Australian Digital Health Agency Electronic Prescriptions webpage
• Department of Health Electronic Prescribing webpage
• Department of Health Fact Sheet
• eRx eprescribing
• Medisecure
• Agency Digital Health Cyber Security Centre
• OAIC website ‘Privacy for health service providers’
• OAIC ‘Guide to securing personal information’

Have more questions?

We have answers to help you get your pharmacy ready for electronic prescriptions.

Our specially trained electronic prescriptions team are ready to support you by calling 1300 955 162 between 8.30am to 7.00pm AEST or emailing ep@psa.org.au

​Electronic prescriptions courses now available

The Australian Digital Health Agency is offering electronic prescriptions eLearning courses for pharmacists.

Electronic prescriptions form part of the broader digital health and medicines safety framework. They enable the prescribing, dispensing and claiming of medicines, without the need for a paper prescription. Prescribers and patients can choose an electronic prescription as an alternative to a paper prescription.

Electronic prescriptions provide greater choice for patients, support digital health services such as telehealth to ensure continuity of patient care, and provide an opportunity to protect community members and healthcare providers from exposure to infectious diseases (for example, COVID-19).

Changes have now been made to Commonwealth legislation to recognise an electronic prescription as a legal form to allow medicine supply. This means that authorised prescribers are now able to issue an electronic prescription using their clinical software.

The eLearning courses, available free at training.digitalhealth.gov.au, include three modules:

1. Introducing electronic prescriptions
2. Using electronic prescriptions
3. Preparing for electronic prescriptions

After completing the course, learners will be able to:

• Describe what electronic prescriptions are and where they are stored
• Discuss the token model and how it is used to prescribe and dispense medicines
• Identify key legislative and software conformance requirements
• Outline the steps that you need to follow to prepare the organisation for electronic prescriptions
• Respond to common patient questions about electronic prescriptions.

The course includes a patient case study to illustrate how a doctor generates an electronic prescription during a consultation, how the patient receives their prescription, and how their medicine is dispensed in a pharmacy. Guidance is provided on how to answer patient questions throughout the modules and videos are used to demonstrate how to prepare for electronic prescriptions.

CPD credits for pharmacists will be available upon the successful completion of each of the modules.

In preparation for being more digitally enabled, healthcare providers are also reminded that the Agency has recently released a free Digital Health Security Awareness eLearning course, also available at training.digitalhealth.gov.au.

Click on the image below to view the webinar recording via PSA learning portal.