Providing Date of Birth when Dispensing S8 Drugs
Depending on the legislation in your State, you may be required to enter the patient's date of birth for Schedule 8 drugs.
New South Wales requirements
If your pharmacy is in New South Wales, when you select a Schedule 8 or Schedule 4 drug during dispensing to a patient that does not have a date of birth recorded, you are prompted to enter one.
Below are examples of what displays for an S8 drug. Similar messages display for an S4 drug.
You cannot complete the dispensing until a date of birth has been entered.
Northern Territory requirements
If your pharmacy is in the Northern Territory, when you select a Schedule 8 drug during dispensing to a patient that does not have a date of birth recorded, you are prompted to enter one.
Below are examples of what displays for an S8 drug. Similar messages display for a monitored S4 drug.
You cannot complete the dispensing until a date of birth has been entered.
Queensland requirements
If your pharmacy is in Queensland, when you select a Schedule 8 drug during dispensing to a patient that does not have a date of birth recorded, you are prompted to enter one.
You cannot complete the dispensing until a date of birth has been entered.
South Australia requirements
If your pharmacy is in South Australia, when you select a Schedule 8 (or a monitored Schedule 4) drug during dispensing to a patient that does not have a date of birth recorded, you are prompted to enter one.
Below are examples of what displays for an S8 drug. Similar messages display for a monitored S4 drug.
You cannot complete the dispensing until a date of birth has been entered.
Victoria requirements
All prescriptions for Schedule 8 drugs dispensed in Victoria must include the following information:
- The date of birth of the patient (not including an animal in the case of a veterinary prescription)
- A statement in words (not just figures) indicating that the drug is to be supplied on only one occasion (e.g. NIL repeats) unless repeats are authorised
For more details, see New Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Regulations 2017 on the health.vic website.
If your pharmacy is in Victoria and you dispense an S8 (or a monitored Schedule 4) drug to a patient who does not have a date of birth entered, you are prompted to enter the patient's date of birth.
Below are examples of what displays for an S8 drug. Similar messages display for a monitored S4 drug.
If you dismiss the prompt, a further warning prompt is displayed to ensure that the date of birth is entered.
See related topic: Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) and Fred Dispense