May 2019
News
In this issue
| PBS Proton Pump Inhibitor Listing Changes Effective May 2019 |
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| Control the Font Size in the Drug Selection Screen |
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| SafeScript and Fred Dispense for Victorian Pharmacies |
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| This Month's PBS Changes |
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PBS Proton Pump Inhibitor Listing Changes Effective May 2019
The July 2018 PBAC recommendations under the Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) Review included restriction level changes for these PBS listed medicines:
- From 1 May 2019, all standard dose PPIs (esomeprazole 20mg, lansoprazole 30mg, omeprazole 20mg, pantoprazole 20mg, rabeprazole 20mg) will change from Restricted Benefit to Authority Required (Streamline).
Common with many other PBS-listed medicines, pharmacists will be required to select the correct PBS Item Code that corresponds with the streamline code selected by the prescriber, otherwise the prescription will be rejected for payment by DHS. The streamline code reflects the indication for which the PPI is prescribed e.g. GORD, Zollinger- Ellison syndrome. Not all PPI PBS item codes are subsidised for all PPI streamline codes. This issue is neither new nor unique to PPIs. It is a good opportunity to reiterate the importance of item selection when dispensing, so that PBS dispensing data reflects practice as accurately as possible and for patients' to have an accurate medication history recorded.
Source: https://dev.pbs.gov.au/news/2019/04/1-may-2019-proton-pump-inhibitor.html
PPIs are high volume PBS medicines. To prevent scripts from getting rejected due to selection of an incorrect PBS item code, follow the tips below when dispensing prescriptions written from 1 May onwards.
Tips for Dispensing Proton Pump Inhibitor Drugs
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Search for a drug using the Streamlined Code—enter * followed by the Streamlined Code. This can help prevent selection errors.
For more details, see Search by Streamlined Code.
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Make sure that the Streamlined Code on the prescription is listed as a 'Valid Streamlined Code' when you are prompted for the Authority details. If the Streamlined Code is not in the list, select another entry with a different PBS Code.
- When you make a generic substitution, also make sure that the streamlined code on the prescription is listed as a ‘Valid Streamlined Code’.
For details, see Dispense Proton Pump Inhibitor Drugs.
Control the Font Size in the Drug Selection Screen
Last month's update included automatic adjustment of the font size to display the longest drug name in the Drug Selection screen.
You can still control the font size by pressing:
- The plus key [+] to enlarge an automatically reduced font size.
- The minus [-] key to reduce a font that was not automatically reduced.
This month, we've added a tip to the Drug Selection screen to remind you how to use the keyboard shortcuts.
SafeScript and Fred Dispense for Victorian Pharmacies
SafeScript real-time prescription monitoring system is already saving lives and keeping patients with prescription medication addictions safe from harm.
SafeScript came online in Western Victoria at the start of October 2018 and is now being rolled out across the state.
Get Started with SafeScript
1. Register
Victorian pharmacies wishing to use SafeScript must first register with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
2. Activate
Once the registration process is complete, activate SafeScript in Fred Dispense.
- Go to Setup > eHealth Configuration > SafeScript Configuration.
- Select Activate SafeScript.
- Click Save.
3. Dispense
- When you dispense S8 or Victorian monitored drugs, you must enter the patient's Date of Birth.
- SafeScript returns a notification when you navigate to the Pharmacist initials field.
For more information, refer to SafeScript in Fred Dispense.
SafeScript and Fred Dispense in Victorian Hospitals
In preparation for state wide rollout, Victorian pharmacies providing services to hospitals (specifically inpatient) will be able to flag a script as being dispensed as an inpatient script with the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+I. See Dispense a script for an inpatient for more details.
This information is important for future rules to be implemented in SafeScript. All monitored drug dispensing history is forwarded to SafeScript with this inpatient information included.
This Month's PBS Changes
For the full Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits, go to the PBS website at http://www.pbs.gov.au/ where you can search the schedule by drug name.
For your convenience, we've also uploaded a printable summary of this month's important PBS changes to this site:
Please note that the Government provides this information under embargo to Fred IT Group to enable next month’s PBS changes to be incorporated into your drug file. We have provided this information in this newsletter to prepare you for the changes, maximising patient availability/access and enabling you to adjust your stock accordingly. A condition of the embargo and in the interests of the quality use of medicines is that the information must not be released to the public or otherwise distributed prior to 1 May 2019.