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Electronic prescriptions are now transacting across Australia, with the Northern Territory’s successful dispense of its first paperless electronic prescription on 1 September.
eRx Script Exchange has now successfully enabled electronic prescriptions to be transacted in all Australian states and territories as part of the national network for electronic prescribing and dispensing.
Alice Springs Pharmacy dispensed the Northern Territory’s first electronic prescription. Pharmacy Manager Anandh Vijayan said, “We are extremely proud to have dispensed the Northern Territory’s first electronic prescription. This will make it easier for patients to access their medication. Alice Springs has a large number of tourists and visitors from other parts of the country who will now be able to access medications from their GP while they are visiting. It will also save our pharmacy considerable time that we would otherwise spend dealing with fax copies and having to chase up originals.”
According to Rupert Lee, Acting Chief Operating Officer at the Australian Digital Health Agency,
“Given the remote locations of many patients, prescribers, pharmacies and communities throughout the Northern Territory, the Agency believes that electronic prescriptions will bring significant benefits to many people. With the final jurisdiction now live, we are pleased to see that electronic prescriptions are now being utilised in every state and territory across Australia. Congratulations to everyone involved in this important initiative.”
Pharmacist and CEO of Fred IT Group, Paul Naismith, emphasised the foundational role of electronic prescriptions in a modern healthcare network, saying,
“This is a significant leap forward for healthcare in Australia. The achievement of national electronic prescriptions is vital to modern healthcare delivery based on flexibility for patients and state-of-the-art systems for healthcare professionals.”
“Behind the scenes, this has occurred as a result of enormous industry collaboration across the states and territories. I am extremely proud of the leadership role that Fred and eRx Script Exchange have taken in making this happen, and of the terrific efforts of GPs, pharmacies, and medical and pharmacy software vendors working together to make this available across Australia.”
This week’s successful electronic prescription occurred using Best Practice medical software prescribing system, prescription exchange service eRx Script Exchange, and Fred Dispense with MedView Flow. It used the “token” model, which involves the doctor sending the electronic prescription “token” to the patient by SMS or email. The patient then forwards or presents the code to their chosen pharmacy for dispensing.
Pharmacies and GPs should contact their vendors about turning on the token model in their sites.
Active Script List
With the national network for “tokens” in place across Australia, preparations continue for the launch of the Active Script List this year. The token model and Active Script List will operate side-by-side to provide patients with flexibility in how they digitally access their medications.
The Active Script List will further improve the patient experience by-
Leading Australian prescribing and dispensing vendors collaborate to complete electronic prescription.
Australia’s first paperless electronic prescription in primary care was successfully prescribed and dispensed in Victoria yesterday, marking a significant first step in the national delivery of electronic prescriptions.
The first electronic prescribing and dispensing occurred between Anglesea Medical and Anglesea Pharmacy. It used the “token” model where the doctor sends the electronic prescription along with a code or “token” to the patient by SMS or email. The patient then forwards or presents the code to their chosen pharmacy for dispensing.
According to Dr David Corbet at Anglesea Medical who prescribed the first electronic prescription, “The process is as simple as writing the prescription in the usual manner and, with the consent of the patient, selecting that the prescription is generated as an electronic prescription.”
Pharmacist Jason Bratuskins dispensed the first electronic prescription in his Anglesea pharmacy. He commented, “Our patients and staff have been profoundly influenced by the isolation requirements of COVID-19, and it has been terrific to be part of efforts to re-define how we support our patients with alternative options for fulfilling prescriptions. I was pleased to see that this could sit comfortably alongside our existing processes.”
This week’s successful electronic prescription occurred using the Best Practice prescribing system, prescription exchange service eRx Script Exchange, Fred NXT Dispense and MedView Flow.
Pharmacist and CEO of Fred IT Group, Paul Naismith said,
“The achievement of the first successful electronic prescription in primary care settings is a major step forward in Australia’s provision of a digital network that provides patients with flexibility for how they access their medications. I am very proud of the Fred and eRx teams which, through ongoing innovation and hard work, have achieved this result ahead of schedule in a very challenging work environment.”
CEO of Best Practice, Dr Frank Pyefinch, was thrilled to hear that the first electronic script had been successfully transferred using Best Practice Software, saying,
“Our team has pulled out all stops to deliver this important functionality as quickly as possible and we expect that it will confirm that electronic prescriptions are the way of the future. It is history in the making!”
The token model will work alongside the Active Script List (ASL) to provide patients with flexibility in how they digitally access their medications. This week’s success covered the entire electronic process of the token model: prescribing electronically in Best Practice, providing the patient with a token with the required number of repeats via eRx, sending the dispensing request to the pharmacy, integrating it into the pharmacy’s workflow, based on MedView Flow, and then dispensing in Fred NXT.
Fred CEO Paul Naismith emphasised that ongoing industry collaboration will be vital to the national delivery of electronic prescriptions. Naismith concluded, “The priority from here is to continue approving participating vendor systems and understand what is needed to prepare patients, prescribers and pharmacies for a national system of electronic prescriptions. The token model and ASL are both important components of a national approach which provides patients with the flexibility and security to manage their electronic prescriptions in collaboration with their local prescriber and pharmacist.”
MedView Flow is a new workflow tool to help pharmacies manage the dispensing changes which will occur with the introduction of electronic prescribing in Australia in 2020.
Electronic prescribing means that patients will be able to present their prescription electronically using a mobile phone, email message, or other pharmacy app, in addition to the traditional paper script.
MedView Flow addresses this problem by bringing paper-based and electronic scripts into the one electronic workflow (or queue). It has been developed to ensure that all Australian pharmacies can embrace electronic prescribing whilst continuing to provide efficient and safe care, regardless of whether patients present their script electronically or via paper.
According to pharmacist and CEO of Fred IT Group, Paul Naismith,
"Fred has invested heavily in the development of MedView Flow to support Australian pharmacy’s transition to a contemporary, digital healthcare environment. We want to ensure that all Australian pharmacies can be on the front foot with this change, both meeting the Australian government’s expectation that pharmacies are ready and offering their patients the convenience digital scripts deliver.
“Fred strongly supports Australia’s move to electronic prescribing, which brings real flexibility for pharmacy patients to decide how they want to present their scripts. In the current climate where health efforts are focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19, we expect that the flexibility of being able to present scripts electronically will be an important support to pharmacies and customers.”
“Electronic prescribing extends safety measures such as the electronic transfer of prescriptions that help reduce potential medication errors and contribute to better sharing of real-time information between healthcare professionals. Ultimately it will also significantly reduce the paperwork that health professionals deal with.”
Leading Australian pharmacy groups Priceline, Amcal, Guardian, Discount Drug Stores, Advantage and Ventura Health have committed to introducing MedView Flow so that their member pharmacies can provide patients with choice in their prescription management.
MedView Flow is a cloud-based workflow tool which can be used with any dispensing software. It will be made available FREE of charge (for up to 5 devices) so that all Australian pharmacies, including independent pharmacies, can be ready when their first patients present with a fully electronic script.
To find out more or to register, please visit medview.com.au/flow
