Pharmacy IT solutions provider Fred IT has won a contract to provide Australia’s national electronic prescription delivery service.
It will deliver the service through the eRx Script Exchange, ensuring ongoing access to a “strong, secure electronic prescribing network”.
In a press release, the company shared some of the upcoming improvements in the national service, including:
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Be sure that electronic scripts and SMS will continue to work with no transaction costs;
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No personal invoices and PBS online payment reconciliation for electronic scripts;
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Prescribing and dispensing software providers will receive financial support for compliant customer service and e-prescribing solutions;
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Enhanced cybersecurity posture and better protection against clinical risk; And
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Empower all users to innovate and deliver patient-focused improvement.
eRx Script Exchange will assist software providers, prescribers and pharmacies in transitioning to these new arrangements, which will begin July 1.
BIGGER BACKGROUND
Last year, the Department of Health sought applications from technology providers to provide prescription deliveries and signed up for the Active Script List for the first four-year term. Fred IT, the company that won the bid, was behind the first e-script release in Australia about 14 years ago.
During the pandemic, the Australian government allowed the issuance of electronic scripts as an alternative to paper-based prescriptions. As of May 2020, more than 122 million electronic scripts have been issued by more than 56,000 prescribers – GPs and nurses, nationwide, based on the latest figures from the Technical Health Administration Australian number.
The federal government has also reimbursed the cost of sending the script token electronically via SMS. However, it will continue to do so until the end of June this year. Last year it started mandatory implementation of e-prescribing in Australian public hospitals, starting with the Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia. The Australian Government is continuing to promote e-prescribing by investing AU$111.8 million ($76 million) over four years as part of the latest 2023-2024 Budget.
ON PROFILE
“Health professionals and patients have dramatically benefited from faster and more accurate dosing services in the 14 years since Fred launched Australia’s first electronic prescription. All doctors Doctors, pharmacists and patients will benefit even more from the next phase of streamlining [the] manage the network and encourage continuous innovation to support healthcare professionals and patients,” commented Fred IT CEO Paul Naismith.
