THE implementation of Australia's new electronic prescription framework is a huge change, which involves "teaching 25 million people new ways of getting their medications," according to Fred IT CEO Paul Naismith.
And while the new system is currently being trialled, the industry should be prepared for a "rollout at pace from October onwards," he warned.
Speaking to an online audience of about 2,000 participants last night during a webinar, Naismith and some of his colleagues demonstrated the current state of play for e-scripts, which are the outcome of legislative change switching the formal legal document for each prescription from a piece of paper into an electronic record.
The session, titled "Dispensing ePrescriptions - How it works now and into the future," included a live demonstration of the token-based system which allowed attendees to subscribe to a platform via SMS and then receive a link to a QR code which represented a six-repeat prescription for AMLO TAB 10mg.
Presenters also included Jason Bratuskins, who is the Product Manager for clinical products at Fred IT Group and also owns a community pharmacy in Anglesea, Vic which is part of a trial of the new online prescription platform.
The webinar included a demonstration of the prescribing process using the Best Practice GP platform, with patients offered the choice of a paper script, or to receive an SMS or email.
Various post-COVID scenarios were also canvassed, including a patient who needs a repeat dispensed but is unable to attend a pharmacy in person and needs home delivery because they are in mandatory post-travel isolation.
Trials are under way in various "Communities of Interest" where local doctors and pharmacies are testing the system as it is refined.
Naismith said pharmacists need not be concerned about the pace of change, given the sector's success in assisting the community through the coronavirus pandemic, particularly highlighting the week in mid Mar when a record 8.4 million scripts were dispensed.
COVID-19 had seen many parts of the economy rapidly adapt to digital enablement, with the community accepting of change.
"Patients are ready for this," Naismith said, urging pharmacists to "be ready, but not alarmed" for the new world of e-prescriptions.
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