Pharmacy Daily | South Australia joins e-script rollout

PHARMACIES across South Australia are now able to dispense electronic prescriptions as the rollout of the new technology continues, with patients across Victoria, the ACT and metropolitan Sydney already having access to paperless scripts.

Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, described e-scripts as a "critical component" of the Government's digital health strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's bringing the delivery of medicines into the 21st century," he said.

"Along with the rollout of telehealth, this is a critical component of the Government's utilisation of digital health infrastructure and services, which has been brought to the fore during the summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These initiatives are critical in delivering health services for all Australians now and into the future."

Welcoming the expansion of e-scripts, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia SA/NT Branch President, Robyn Johns, told Nine News that there were a number of benefits to using the new technology.

"It's going to increase the speed and accuracy of dispensing," she said.

"It also increased the security of it."

With more than one million e-scripts issued to date, Federal Minister for Regional Health, Mark Coulton, said the new system had played a significant role in assisting patients in rural and remote parts of the country access medications.

"Technology is helping to overcome the challenges of distances faced by communities in regional, rural and remote Australia when accessing healthcare and medications," he said.