Electronic prescribing is valid and is widely available in Australia. Besides, the online prescription allows the clients and their patients to utilize the electronic prescription in place of paper prescription thus allowing the patients to obtain medical prescriptions at the comfort of their home. The electronic prescription forms a major part of the budget measures of the Australian Government in ensuring that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is more effective in lowering the cost of healthcare. Furthermore, it represents a part of medicine safety and digital health framework where it enables the prescription, claiming, and dispensing of medicine with the patient not having to obtain a paper prescription.
The online prescription does not fundamentally alter the initial prescription and dispensing process as patients are allowed to deal with the pharmacy of their choice where they fill in their prescription. Besides, the paper prescription is still available for the patients and prescribers where they can either choose the method or the electronic prescription to be given instead. Moreover, the online prescription is objected to in providing efficiency and choice to clients while ensuring the PBS in improving compliance, efficiency, and safety of drugs. The Department of Health of the Australian government has been able to implement the electronic prescription as it changed the legislation to allow electronic prescription through PBS medicines legal.
The Department of Health in the country has partnered with the digital health agency of Australia to offer a technical framework to assist the medical software systems to make, gather, and store electronic prescriptions. Besides, the technical framework indicates the requirements for the medical software to honor the patients’ preferences of the prescriber as well as the pharmacy to deliver their medications. Moreover, the framework ensures adherence to security and privacy principles and enforces the legislation alignment.
The online prescription has vast importance to the patients who chose to use it. For instance, the method provides its users with great choice and makes the prescription and dispensing of medication more effective. Moreover, the online prescription helps in minimizing the prescription and dispensing of medicines errors and reduces the need for using, handling, and storage of physical paper prescriptions. The patient’s privacy and integrity for personal information is easily maintained through the online system of prescription. The online platform provides a chance to prevent the community members as well as medical care providers from exposure to infectious diseases such as the covid-19. Furthermore, such a platform supports digital health services like telehealth to improve the delivery of healthcare in the country.
It is therefore enough evidence that the online prescription of medication in Australia has played a significant role in the improvement of health care services delivery. Moreover, it has made the delivery of medical services more efficient where patients can receive healthcare services from home or workplaces. Therefore, the healthcare stakeholders should ensure the adoption of online prescription is present as an option from the paper prescription where the clients would be encouraged to opt for the online prescription. Moreover, the community should be educated on the systems involved in the online prescription and shown that it carries the same weight as moving to a medical facility physically to receive prescriptions directly.
Phenix Health delivers online health services 24/7 provided by Australian doctors and healthcare professionals.