I spotted this last week:
Electronic prescribing
Electronic prescribing provides an option for prescribers and their patients to use an electronic Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription. Paper prescriptions will still be available.
- About electronic prescribing
- Why it is important
- Goals of the initiative
- Meeting our goals
- PBS regulatory framework
- Learn more
- Contacts
About electronic prescribing
Electronic prescribing allows prescribers and their patients to use an electronic Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription. It forms part of an Australian Government budget measure to improve PBS efficiency.
Electronic prescribing will not fundamentally change existing prescribing and dispensing processes. Patients can still choose which pharmacy they attend to fill their prescription.
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. Paper prescriptions will still exist.
Why it is important
Electronic prescribing is important because it:
- provides greater choice for patients
- improves efficiency in prescribing and dispensing medications
- may reduce prescribing and dispensing errors
- supports electronic medication charts in hospitals and residential aged care facilities
- 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 healthcare providers from exposure to infectious diseases (for example, COVID-19)
- maintains patient privacy and integrity of personal information
Goals of the initiative
Electronic prescribing aims to provide convenience and choice to patients whilst improving PBS efficiency, compliance and drug safety.
Meeting our goals
The Commonwealth Department of Health (the Department) is leading the introduction of electronic prescriptions. Commonwealth legislation has been changed to make electronic prescriptions a legal form of prescription for PBS medicines. We are working with the states and territories to ensure a nationally consistent electronic prescribing framework.
The Department has partnered with the Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency), through a co-design process with the health sector, to develop a technical framework to help clinical software systems create, collect and store electronic prescriptions. This technical framework details the requirements for clinical software to:
- maintain patient choice of prescriber and pharmacy for supply of their medicines
- adhere to privacy and security principles
- ensure alignment with legislation
Services Australia has also changed the PBS claim-for-payment system to support the new arrangements.
Timelines
The technical framework and the PBS regulatory framework have been in place from 31 October 2019.
We are working closely with the Agency and clinical software providers to roll out implementation activities progressively from mid-2020.
We are also working with the Agency to manage communication activities to ensure prescribers, dispensers and patients understand the changes and what electronic prescribing means for them.
PBS regulatory framework
The regulatory framework to allow for electronic prescribing under the PBS has several components.
Changes to the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 2017 allow the use of an electronic prescription as an alternative to a paper prescription under the PBS.
Four instruments under these regulations support the use of electronic prescriptions, including electronic prescriptions that are medication charts.
- The Form of the Electronic Prescription 2019 defines the information fields required when a PBS prescriber writes an electronic prescription.
- The Electronic Prescriptions Information Technology Requirements 2019 details system requirements for participating in electronic prescribing.
- The Form of the PBS Hospital Medication Chart details requirements for paper and electronic forms of medication charts for use in hospitals.
- The Form of the National Residential Medication Chart details requirements for paper and electronic forms of medication charts for use in residential care facilities.
We will post links to the medication chart instruments when they become available.
Changes to the National Health (Claims and under co-payment data) Rules 2012 allow PBS claims from electronic prescriptions. The rules state what information approved suppliers must provide about supplying PBS medicines from electronic prescriptions.
Learn more
See Claiming online for PBS medicines for more information on the changes made to the PBS claim-for-payment system.
See Electronic prescriptions at the Australian Digital Health Agency site.
Electronic prescribing contacts
Use these contacts for more information on aspects of electronic prescribing.
Contact us (Department of Health) with questions about the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) legislative framework for electronic prescribing.
Contact the Australian Digital Health Agency with questions about their electronic prescribing technical framework.
Contact Services Australia with questions about the:
- PBS or Repatriation Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits (RPBS) claim systems
- Healthcare identifiers service
Contact type: Department of Health
Email:
Department of Health ePrescribing@health.gov.au
Australian Digital Health Agency help@digitalhealth.gov.au
Services Australia otsliaison@humanservices.gov.au
Last updated: 15 April 2020
Here is the link:
This is a useful set of links to pursue the details as well as contacts to ask questions.
David.
8 comments:
Timelines
We are working closely with the Agency and clinical software providers to roll out implementation activities progressively from mid-2020.
Wasn't eprescribing promised to be fast tracked and available in the next couple of weeks?
David, I seriously wonder if I have missed something here?
"The Form of the Electronic Prescription 2019 defines the information fields required when a PBS prescriber writes an electronic prescription."
Is there no format provided?
Can I put the field of information anywhere I like on the screen?
Are there no standards for data layout and presentation that we have to adopt?
Does this mean there can be many different layouts of the information?
Do we have to adopt the layout as per the paper prescription?
If the above questions are valid then won't the "Full Description of Electronic Prescribing" as described by the Authoritative Source (the Government) lead to a dogs-body / mish-mash of confusion?
To be fair, going from running service desks for NSW to leading clinical informatics and architecture requires a bit of learning. Probably not helped when your fellow execs are just as limited and your go to guy is no more than a sales and marketing got.
ADHA Staffer said... Pretty much sums up the problem facing ehealth in Australia.
@3:01 PM I have reviewed the "Form of the Electronic Prescription 2019". Your questions seem valid to me. I can't see any evidence of 'system design specs' and I do agree that without them there is little likelihood of any standardised format emerging.
Perhaps David omitted to include the specifications or maybe they don't exist!
The specs must exist. They probably justforgot to release them.
Specs? Like the ERRCD?
I'm confused. "Commonwealth Department of Health is leading the introduction .... "
Surely they should have said "The Victorian Department of Health ...." is leading the introduction ...
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