Health Minister intervenes to support the system.
The Pharmacy Guild has just announced it will not proceed with tonight’s planned closure of its MedsASSIST codeine decision support portal, after “high level intervention in support of the system by the Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt”.
A statement just issued by the Guild said after yesterday’s announcement about the shutdown, the minister has “expressed his strong support for continuing MedsASSIST,” particularly in the period between now and 1 February 2018, when codeine containing medicines will be up-scheduled to prescription only.
The Guild said Hunt has made it clear he is committed to working in partnership with the Guild to keep MedsASSIST operating until then, and has “committed to seeking urgent advice on the necessary steps to strengthen the regulatory underpinnings of the MedsASSIST system via discussions with the Department of Health, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner”.
In light of the Minister’s commitment and in good faith, the Guild has agreed to hold off the shut down until this advice is received. In the meantime all pharmacies are encouraged to continue to use MedsASSIST “as an important clinical tool to support patient safety”.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Pharmacy Daily.