To support those people most at risk from COVID-19, the rollout of electronic prescriptions across Greater Melbourne will be expanded beyond the current communities of interest. This follows successful testing since May 2020.

Electronic prescribing is being implemented in General Practices and Community Pharmacies across Australia. To date, this has occurred through a managed approach of testing and continuous improvement across a growing number of ‘communities of interest’.

Given the current COVID-19 crisis in Melbourne, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia are working together with the Australian Department of Health and the Australian Digital Health Agency to support doctors and pharmacists in the Greater Melbourne area to access this new technology faster. This will support a safer and more convenient supply of medicines for patients.

Previous communications have stated electronic prescriptions should only be written or dispensed as part of the communities of interest trials. This is now being expanded to the Greater Melbourne area. If you have made the preparations outlined below, you can and should commence electronic prescribing in Greater Melbourne, starting with the patient’s preferred choice of how they receive their prescriptions and medicines.

With an immediate focus on general practices and community pharmacies in greater metropolitan Melbourne to substantially increase electronic prescription capability over the coming weeks we all need to work together. The following steps will help your pharmacy or general practice get ready.

Patient Choice

It’s important to remember that electronic prescriptions are an alternative to paper. If a patient’s preferred local pharmacy is not ready for electronic prescriptions, patients can still choose to get a paper prescription from their doctor.

Aiza Mabayag

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Aiza is a journalist and content writer. She is the content producer of Public Spectrum.

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