The introduction of electronic prescriptions continues to gather pace and it is expected that both models of electronic prescriptions - Token and Active Script List (ASL) - will be rolled out nationally in the coming months.
There are clear patient benefits to both models, but ASL has several benefits that build on those provided by the ePrescription token model.
Patients managing their medicines with paper prescriptions today regularly visit multiple sites of care, leading to a fragmented picture of their prescriptions.
Because the ASL provides approved healthcare professionals with a shared view of prescriptions available for dispense, clinical decision-making should be more fact-based, leading to a reduction in prescribing and dispensing errors.
Another key benefit of the ASL is that because no tokens are required, patients can no longer lose their prescriptions.
This should lead to a reduction in Government costs from surplus MBS claims for replacement tokens or paper scripts and a reduced risk in prescribing duplication.
The ASL further empowers the patient to choose where and how they have their prescriptions dispensed.
A key example here is a patient on holidays being able to access a community pharmacy of their choice at their destination without having to get the paper document to that pharmacy.
In addition, the ASL means the patient does not need a smartphone or a QR code or Internet access to download the QR code.
For our community pharmacists, it just means a conversation with their patients about setting up ASL to obtain consent. Pharmacists will need to continue their current professional practice by obtaining consent from their patients to have the script dispensed.
