ACTIVE Ingredient Prescribing: From 1 February 2021, the Australian Government is mandating that prescribers must include the active ingredient names when preparing prescriptions for PBS and RPBS medicines.
This will mean that from February onwards, patients will be provided with prescriptions based on the active ingredient, rather than the brand name of the medication.
Exceptions to this arrangement include:
Handwritten prescriptions
Paper-based medication charts in the residential aged care sector
Medicinal items with four or more active ingredients; and
Other items excluded for safety and practicality reasons.
The Guild is working with the Government to resolve potential issues if pharmacists are presented with non-compliant scripts after 1 February 2021.
The Guild encourages Members to contact their local prescribers to discuss this change, and for the prescriber to ensure they have updated their prescribing software, so that only compliant scripts are printed after 1 February.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 12 Jan 21
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 12 Jan 21
