This appeared a few days ago.
ADHA pulls brakes on eScripts
Pharmacy Practice Management Technology
The national rollout of eScripts has experienced a false start, with the Australian Digital Health Agency asking GP software companies to remove the electronic prescribing functionality that was only launched in late July.
GPs who were early adopters and already updated their software to issue eScript tokens will still be able to use the function.
But for others, the update will remain unavailable, unless your practice is one of the designated “communities of interest”.
The ADHA is also asking for general practices outside these designated areas to halt all eScripts until pharmacies are ready to receive the digital tokens.
Lorraine Pyefinch, board director of Best Practice, said that GP practice software companies had done everything required of them to deliver eScript functionality as quickly as possible.
The company announced the general availability of their eScript software in late July.
“In the first week that our utility was available, it was downloaded several hundred times by practices across the country and as far as we know, the practices had been doing the right thing and contacting local pharmacies to check before issuing any scripts,” Mrs Pyefinch told The Medical Republic.
“Also as per our instructions, GPs were ensuring that if a patient’s preferred pharmacy was not ready for eScripts, they would issue a paper script, as per usual.”
But it’s clear something has gone awry in either the coordination or communication of successfully launching eScripts across general practices and the pharmacy sector.
Shortly after eScript functionality was launched by the GP software vendors, there was concern from the ADHA, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild that patients would present tokens to pharmacies that were not compatible for dispensing from a digital script.
David Clarke, CEO of Corum Group Australia, a pharmacy software company, said all the major vendors were meeting on a weekly basis with the ADHA to work on the fast-tracking of eScripts.
He said that while all vendors had the technology ready to roll out, there were significant challenges with having GPs ready before pharmacies.
“A GP can choose when to issue an electronic script or a paper script, but the pharmacy is a taker and doesn’t have a choice when someone walks in the door,” he said.
“Pharmacists don’t have a choice about dispensing because if the script is delivered electronically, they have to dispense it electronically and if they aren’t set up to do it, then they have to send the person away.
“While the GP can wait to use this functionality, the pharmacy doesn’t have that choice.”
Mr Clarke said GPs who can already issue eScripts should for now:
- Check with the ADHA if you are in a community of interest
- Don’t issue an eScript unless you know a particular pharmacy can accept it
- Decide whether a paper or eScript is most appropriate
- Reiterate to the patient that they have to take the eScript to the pharmacy they nominated, or it may not be able to be dispensed.
While the ADHA is yet to confirm when electronic prescribing will be widely available, it will now be a staged release beginning in Melbourne, followed by regional Victoria, Sydney, and then expanding to other cities.
GPs are also starting to question whether the “fast-tracked” version of electronic prescribing will be delivered to plan.
Originally a two-year plan, the COVID-19 National Health Plan for primary care said ePrescribing would be fast-tracked for up to 80% of general practices and community pharmacies by the start of June.
More here:
http://medicalrepublic.com.au/adha-pulls-brakes-on-escripts/32994
Reading
further on it seems the ADHA is blaming the software vendors for going early letting
people know that they had working software available and ready when the GPs were. I am sure other are blaming others and comments are putting all sorts of views as late as today!
For those who came in late and are not up with the recent backstory you can read how but a month or two back we had the ADHA spruiking just what a fab job they had done and how wonderful it all was. I suggested back then this might have been a little early.
See here:
https://aushealthit.blogspot.com/2020/08/not-being-open-and-transparent-always.html
Here is a short quote from their release.
“A significant amount of work had already been done to ensure that necessary upgrades to both pharmacy and prescriber software can be done quickly and electronic prescriptions are expected to be progressively available from the end of May.
Ms Bettina McMahon interim CEO says, “the use of technology in healthcare has never been more critical, and Australia is in a better position than many other countries when it comes to digital health. Electronic prescriptions are another vital tool that will help to create a connected healthcare system for Australia.”
As I have said recently EP is a great thing whose time has well and truly come, and I am sure in the months to come we will well and truly get there with a genuinely working national system.
Surely when that has happened it is the time to preen and puff out the chest and not before you have got there!
It will be good to see the ADHA and the MSIA and its legion of smart members back in synch and ready for another challenge…
David.
Oh bless. To think Some really believed the plan to flood the eHealth agenda with inexperienced go-getters led by a English git had all the trappings of success. We have arrived at your destination - sadly it is now a run-down shanty town bereft of leadership.
ReplyDeletea run-down shanty town?
ReplyDeletemore or a moneypit or graveyard of bad ideas
Perhaps this is a result of a mindset of failure, that when something has a chance to succeed at great speed ADHA leadership is ill prepared, panics and creates a situation like this. Perhaps this is their comfort zone?
ReplyDeleteYou may have hit on something there Peter. On reflection there has always been a bit of ‘set-up-to-fail syndrome’ which has become more prevalent of late. This ‘set-up-to-fail syndrome’ resides not just at an indervidual level but also an organisational level, with guilds, peak bodies, government and colleges etc.. all seemingly playing a role.
ReplyDeleteThe problem was a progressive rollout without handling it in the system. They have relied on workarounds by GP's and pharmacies. The software & systems work fine for a complete and static situation where every user has finished the rollout. The current checks & workarounds are creating more work instead of creating savings.
ReplyDeleteIt would have needed a centralised web service (ADHA to coordinate? with security) that required the software installations to notify when the location & users were ready. That service could then simplify the checks, selecting the pharmacy, knowing the right script register or alert to use the usual paper copy. The aim would be to integrate and automate to save time. These features are often started as separate modules bolted on which require more manual processes and workarounds. Over time they get more integration, automation and fixes but it takes time, money and users have update fatigue.
The programmers would say they delivered what was asked and the ADHA/industry etc. probably say "it was harder than they expected" or "it was good but we're now fixing the teething problems". The planning and designs fall short, close but could be better.
It would be appropriate for the FRED/eRx CEO, Paul Naismith, to explain how this messy deployment happened.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Why would anyone want to own it. Anyway ADHA is the lead so the accountable party, the Acting CEO and COO have dealt with those involved long enough to have at least factor the usual antics. Just shows some get by on others good deeds and ideas, seems now the cupboard is bare they are tripping over.
ReplyDeleteReal time GP data to be used for Australian COVID-19 management
ReplyDeleteLed by the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre, the project will compile data from 500 practices to map the impact of the pandemic on the country's health system.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/real-time-gp-data-to-be-used-for-australian-covid-19-management/
Just shows how sterile the MyHR is. If 90% of the population have one, why is this not the go-to source of real-time medical data?
Why? .. because Fred/eRx is the major player with the PGA in pharmacy.
ReplyDelete@2:12 PM "Anyway ADHA is the lead so the accountable party".
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to the strategic and leadership capabilities of the "accountable party". It's not that hard; however, if common sense is in short supply it's very very hard.
One of Health/ADHA/government's hypes is that by giving patients access to their health records they will be able to take control of their healthcare.
ReplyDeleteThis is the sort of thing that happens when they try:
Doctors say they're dealing with significantly more patients who resist their advice because of misinformation they read online.
https://www.insider.com/doctors-say-more-patients-are-denying-medical-advice-misinformation-2020-8
It is more likely that patients will misinterpret the information in their record especially if they read misinformation on the internet.