PHARMACY Guild offshoot Fred IT has been appointed to build the new SafeScript real-time prescription monitoring system for the Victorian Government.
The project is worth $29.5 million overall, including comprehensive training and support for health practitioners across the state.
SafeScript will monitor all S8 medicines prescribed and dispensed, as well as other high risk medicines such as benzodiazepines.
Legislation enabling the project was passed by the Victorian Parliament last month (PD 20 Oct), with the state pressing ahead with its own system rather than electing to participate in a national real time monitoring project.
Set to be rolled out in late 2018, SafeScript will be used to provide doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists instant information on the prescription histories of their patients to "enable safer clinical decisions and reduce the harms from prescription medicine misuse," said Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy.
Hennessy said Fred IT Group, which is now 50% owned by Telstra (PD 02 Oct 2013) had "intimate knowledge of the Australian medical and pharmacy sector and a proven track record of innovation in eHealth".
She said SafeScript would leverage Prescription Exchange Services to obtain the script data for the system, and would be designed to be as quick and easy for clinicians to use as possible.
"Too many Victorians have died from the misuse of prescription medicines. This is an avoidable tragedy and that's why we're getting SafeScript done to fix it," Hennessy added.
"We are partnering with Fred IT Group so we can get the best technology for Victorians."
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