eRx Script Exchange was first established in 2009. It allows general practitioners (GPs), medical specialists and other prescribers to issue prescriptions with confidence, knowing that patients can have them dispensed in any pharmacy around Australia.

From 1 July 2023, eRx Script Exchange was contracted by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing as the sole operator of Australia’s central prescription exchange known as the National Prescription Delivery Service (NPDS) following a robust procurement process. 

eRx as the NPDS is now an essential component of Australia’s national digital health infrastructure.

When your doctor issues you a prescription (either a paper prescription with barcode or an electronic prescription ‘ePrescription’ with token), it is digitally uploaded to eRx Script Exchange from the doctor’s clinical software. All prescriptions are encrypted.

You can then have your medication dispensed at any approved Australian community pharmacy. The pharmacist will scan your paper prescription barcode or your ePrescription token and this will safely and securely retrieve your script information from eRx for dispensing by the pharmacist.

The majority of GP, specialist and pharmacy clinical software is connected to eRx Script Exchange.

eRx Script Exchange is a Fred IT Group product. Fred IT Group is owned by Telstra Health.

An electronic prescription is a digital version of a paper prescription. It is a safe and convenient alternative to paper prescriptions. If you choose to receive an electronic prescription, your doctor will send an SMS or email to your mobile phone. It will contain a link to a ‘token’ which contains your prescription information.

You can choose to receive an electronic prescription from your healthcare provider when you next need a prescription, or you can request for it to be sent to your Active Script List (ASL or ‘MySL’).

All pharmacies approved under section 90 of the National Health Act 1953 to dispense pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS and RPBS) medications are set up to dispense medicines via an electronic prescription.

ePrescriptions continue to run in parallel with paper prescriptions. It is your choice as a healthcare consumer to ask your doctor for a paper prescription or an ePrescription.

All your personal and medication information is fully encrypted so that it is completely private and secure. Only your doctor and pharmacist can see your information. eRx is not able to decrypt or see your information.

eRx acts like an ‘electronic postman’ and we do not open your mail. All patient and script information is locked with three levels of encryption before it leaves the doctor’s computer and can only be opened when it arrives at the pharmacy.

eRx abides by strict cybersecurity principles laid out in the Information Security Manual (ISM) set by the Australian Government Australian Signals Directorate. eRx complies with international cybersecurity standards and is a conformant Prescription Delivery Service in accordance with the requirements published by the Australian Digital Health Agency.

All community pharmacies and nearly all prescribing doctors in primary care are connected to eRx as the National Prescription Delivery Service. New community pharmacies and doctors can register to use eRx through their nominated clinical software vendor.

eRx Script Exchange is currently working with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Australian Digital Health Agency to implement ePrescribing and ePrescriptions into public hospitals.

eRx is integrated as part of doctor and pharmacy clinical software and so the workflow and user interface design is determined by each software vendor. Click on the Vendor pages on this website for further details on how eRx works in your chosen clinical software.

There are no sign-on fees, no licence costs, and no lock-in contracts for medical practitioners and pharmacies.

Since 1 July 2023, when eRx Script Exchange was contracted by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing as the National Prescription Delivery Service (NPDS), all PBS/RPBS eRx prescription transactions are directly funded by the Australian Government, including any SMS fees for ePrescriptions. Prescriptions for PBS and RPBS medicines are therefore electronically transacted free of charge for doctors, pharmacies and patients.

From 1 July 2025, eRx Script Exchange has introduced a nominal fee to pharmacies of 15cents for each private prescription downloaded and dispensed via eRx. The number of private prescriptions being transacted through eRx has increased significantly over time, and eRx has been carrying the additional costs associated with the provision of this service for private prescriptions. This is why eRx has introduced this fee.

For transactions between prescribers and dispensers, consent is implied in the initiator’s consultation with the patient in the same way that it has been done with the original paper prescription system. If a patient does not wish their record to go through eRx they should speak to their medical practitioner and pharmacist.