QUEENSLAND Health Minister Cameron Dick has announced the development of a business case by Queensland Health "to assess the best options for implementing real-time reporting" of dispensing of controlled drugs in the state.
Dick said the business case would look at how real-time reporting in Queensland might link with the Federal Government's MyHealth system, and a Federal Department of Health project to equip the states with the Electronic Reporting and Recording of Controlled Drugs (ERRCD) system.
In the meantime, Queensland Health has also announced that pharmacists must notify the government on a weekly basis when they dispense prescription painkillers, rather than monthly.
Dick said the move aimed to help combat misuse of S8 medications.
"This is a growing problem not just in Queensland but across Australia and internationally, and we need to respond," he said.
"This move to weekly reporting will provide doctors with a greater level of awareness of how often and where and when a person has filled a prescription for painkillers.
"It will mean they can be more vigilant and alert to situations where painkillers are clearly being misused," Minister Dick said.
The move applies to S8 medications such as fentanyl, oxycodone and morphine, with the dispensing details entered into a database which doctors can access via a telephone enquiry.
Dick said Queensland was one of the few states that currently has an S8 prescription drug monitoring program that records patients' dispensing history.
Queensland Health also recently launched an upgraded seven-day-a-week telephone enquiry service to give doctors improved access to the dispensing information submitted by the pharmacists.
"The move to weekly in place of monthly reporting for when pharmacists dispense S8 drugs will provide doctors with even better information," Dick added.
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