Electronic Prescribing Electronic prescribing is the process by which a prescription is electronically generated by a prescriber and securely transmitted to a prescription delivery service for dispensing and supply. Changes have been made to Commonwealth legislation to recognise an electronic prescription as a legal form to allow medicine supply. Under the National Health Plan for COVID-19, the Australian Government has accelerated the delivery of electronic prescribing to be progressively available from the end of May 2020.
Patients will be given the choice to receive either an electronic or a paper prescription from their prescriber. Electronic prescribing will not fundamentally change existing prescribing and dispensing processes. It provides patients with more options and patients will still have the ability to choose which pharmacy they attend to fill their prescription. Both electronic and paper prescriptions will need to comply with the relevant Commonwealth and State and Territory legislation requirements.
Two models for Electronic Prescriptions There will be two models available to support Electronic Prescribing; the Token Model and the Active Script List Model. Only the Token Model will be available from end of May 2020, with the Active Script List Model expected to be available from the end of 2020. Your clinical software may determine which PES you register with. The two PES vendors have entered into arrangements with existing clinical software providers such as Medical Director, Best Practice, Zedmed and Genie to integrate the software required for ETP within existing clinical software. Token Model: This will see a unique QR barcode known as a ‘token’ sent via an app, SMS or email. A token is not a legal prescription, but it can be used by an authorised pharmacy to unlock the legal prescription. Ensure your practice is connected to a Prescription Delivery Service through a Prescription Exchange Service (eRx or MediSecure) so you can access and dispense your patient’s Electronic Prescriptions. Active Script List Model: Under this model pharmacists will be able to access a patient’s electronic prescription by retrieving it from an Active Script List (ASL). The patient must prove their identity to the pharmacist. The ASL is expected to overcome the issue of lost tokens and assist medication management and adherence, especially for patients who are using multiple medicines.
Electronic Prescribing Electronic Transfer of Prescription (ETP) Electronic Transfer of Prescription (ETP) is one of the existing paper-based mechanisms to transfer prescription information securely between a prescriber and a community pharmacy, improving quality and reducing the opportunity for errors. Using a barcode on a paper prescription the pharmacy is able to access an electronic system known as an open prescription delivery service PDS (sometimes referred to as a Prescription Exchange Service [PES]) to securely download information about the prescription. Steps required for practice to be ready to use Electronic Prescriptions 1. 2. 3.
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Register Organisation for a Healthcare Provider Identifier-Organisation (HPI-O) and connected it to the HI service. This is a core requirement for electronic prescribing. Ensure your practice is connected to an open Prescription Delivery Service via a prescription exchange service. Existing prescription exchange services include eRx and Medisecure. Register your organisation and all providers with a prescription exchange service (PES): Details of how to register with the two PES providers operating in Australia are available on their websites – eRX Script Exchange and MediSecure. Contact your clinical software vendor to ensure they are capable of sending ePrescriptions. Update your patients’ and their carers’ contact details (mobile phone number, email) on file at each visit. Keep your staff informed about electronic prescribing and how they may respond to patient’s questions about electronic prescriptions.
Benefits of Electronic Prescribing Benefits of electronic prescribing are present on a system level and extend to the patient and healthcare providers: • • • • • •
Reducing administrative burden for healthcare providers and organisations More effective management of prescription refill requests Supplementing delivery of telehealth services to ensure continuity of patient care Providing an opportunity to protect community members and healthcare providers from exposure to infectious diseases (e.g. COVID-19) Maintaining patient privacy Maintaining integrity of personal information
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