An electronic future for prescriptions
Published 27 September 2018
How do you get your tickets when you go to a music concert or a sporting event? What about your boarding pass when flying? More and more Australians are ditching paper tickets and opting for the convenience of receiving tickets and confirmations electronically.
Paper based prescriptions are also being digitised to make it easier for patients to collect their prescribed medicines at the pharmacy of their choosing. Electronic prescriptions will also make it easier for pharmacists to deliver medicines while improving drug safety and compliance standards.
In the 2018-19 Budget, the Australian Government announced $28.2 million over five years to upgrade the e-prescribing software system so that is available nationally via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
The Australian Digital Health Agency is working with the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and industry and clinical stakeholders to deliver this system.
This work is underpinned by the National Requirements for Electronic Prescriptions which defines key principles for a safe system to support prescribing and dispensing of prescriptions. Security and privacy safeguards including strong encryption, secure login processes, and audit logging will be included in the system.