December 2019
News
In this issue
| Errata to the December 2019 PBS Schedule |
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| SafeScript and Fred Dispense for Victorian Pharmacies |
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| Fred Help Christmas and New Year Hours |
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| This Month's PBS Changes |
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Errata to the December 2019 PBS Schedule
In an Errata to the 1 December 2019 Schedule, the PBS has:
- Removed the newly listed GLYCOMACROPEPTIDE AND ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID FORMULA WITH VITAMINS, MINERALS, AND LOW IN TYROSINE AND PHENYLALANINE (item 11832R - TYR Sphere20) from the 1 December 2019 Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits.
- Corrected the entry for LUMACAFTOR + IVACAFTOR in the 1 December 2019 Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits – Section 100 as detailed below to include “if aged from 6 years or older”.
The full text of the errata is included in the PBS Summary of Changes.
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.
From April 2020, it will be mandatory to check SafeScript prior to writing or dispensing a prescription for a medicine monitored through the system. For more information, refer to SafeScript on the health.vic website.
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.
Fred Help Christmas and New Year Hours
Fred Help will be available on 1300 731 888 during Christmas and New Year.
We suggest that you print out this calendar and display it prominently in your dispensary during the festive season. This will ensure that all of your staff are aware of the hours they can contact us, should they require support.
| DATE | FRED HELP OFFICE HOURS (AEDT) |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 24 December 2019 (Christmas Eve) | 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday 25 December 2019 (Christmas Day) | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (Emergencies Only) |
| Thursday 26 December 2019 (Boxing Day) | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Friday 27 December 2019 | 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Saturday 28 December 2019 | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Sunday 29 December 2019 | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Monday 30 December 2019 | 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Tuesday 31 December 2019 (New Year's Eve) | 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday 1 January 2020 (New Year's Day) | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
| From Thursday 2 January 2020 |
Normal support hours Weekdays: 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM Weekends: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
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 December 2019.