Pharmacy Daily | PSA real-time statement

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has issued a new formal position statement on the implementation of a national real time medicine monitoring system. The PSA says hundreds of lives would be saved and hospitalisations reduced if such a system was adopted, to help address the “increase of harm resulting from the inappropriate use of both prescription and OTC medicines”. A proposed Electronic Recording and Reporting of Controlled Drugs (ERRCD) system across all jurisdictions should be compulsory for use with all drugs with the potential for addiction - not just prescription medicines. The PSA urged the adoption of nationally uniform regulatory controls for poisons, and that the system be appropriately integrated with prescribing and dispensing systems to ensure seamless use. “PSA believes that real-time reporting should not be a barrier to the legitimate use of analgesics by consumers with severe disabling pain or those receiving palliative care,” the statement adds. “Having an ERRCD system would be a major boost in the fight to curb inappropriate use of prescription and OTC medicines,” said PSA president Joe Demarte. The full statement is available for download at www.psa.org.au.

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