Insights
ePrescriptions: Driving change in Australian pharmacy
A software perspective
The case for change
At the beginning of June 2020, we released a software update, which enabled pharmacies using Minfos to dispense ePrescriptions. By the end of June, we had enabled ePrescriptions in Victoria, New South Wales and Northern Territory, where it was legislated of pharmacies using and Minfos met the state/territory Minfos updated their compliance requirements, and software enabling about 85% of Minfos pharmacies ePrescriptions in these regions had updated their software. The number of pharmacies updating their software to take up the ability to dispense ePrescriptions continues to grow. While this is a fantastic outcome that shows the willingness of pharmacy to adapt to technological change, it is too early to speculate about the timeframe in which ePrescriptions will be commonly used across Australia.
We perceive that ePrescriptions will have the potential to deliver solid benefits to every facet of the healthcare chain – from doctors, to pharmacists and patients alike. A few of the important benefits are: accurate delivery of medication and dosage, reduced dispensing errors and time savings achieved through efficiency gains. However, ePrescriptions are at their infancy in Australia and as with any major technological advancement, adoption, implementation and change management challenges have emerged across the industry.
85%
Barriers for change Beyond the legislative requirements, we believe the two main barriers in pharmacies effectively adopting digital technology are implementation costs and change management. We considered both barriers in our development and for that reason we made the ability to dispense ePrescriptions in Minfos a no-cost upgrade for our customers. Ultimately, we integrated ePrescriptions into the Minfos dispense workflow to assist pharmacies to deliver better patient outcomes.
It’s also important to note that wholesale adoption of ePrescriptions cannot occur in a vacuum and it depends on a range of factors, including: • Differing state and territory legislative schedule • Software conformance testing • GP’s encouraging patients to take up the new technology • Patient’s understanding and trust in the system • Other ongoing national digital health transformations
Key components of ePrescription adoption
Technology & process
Healthcare Industry & patients Federal & State Legislation
It is only natural that industry sentiments are deeply affected by such revolutionary technological changes, which is coupled with mandatory adherence to multilayered changes in legislation. On a micro level, our discussions to-date with pharmacies have revealed that sentiment ranges anywhere from uncertainty and reluctance to interest and excitement. As a result, our ePrescription functionality is developed based on the belief that pharmacies are more likely to adapt to change when the functionality is simple and easy to use, familiar and built on a well-understood dispense process. Another point to note is that pharmacies will not become ePrescription ready by simply installing the ePrescription software. Software is only one aspect of the delivery of ePrescriptions; pharmacies not only need to understand the new legislation, but also put the necessary operational processes in place to become ready. Minfos is working hard to help pharmacies make a smooth transition.