On Monday 1 February, the Department of Health changed legislation so that Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation PBS (RPBS) medicines must be prescribed using the active ingredient names, instead of the brand name of a medicine. This will require practices to update prescribing software to versions that meet these new requirements.
To avoid putting your practice at risk, we are encouraging all practices to update their clinical information systems (CIS).
It is important that general practices take the time to install software updates as soon as they become available. Installing regular updates reduces vulnerabilities and increases your business’s protection against loss of money, data, and identity. Continuing to use old software versions can leave your practice open to cyberattacks.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has created the following resources to support clinicians with active ingredient prescribing:
- Fact Sheet: Active ingredient prescribing
- Active ingredient prescribing user guide
- List of Medicines for Brand Consideration (LMBC)
- List of Excluded Medicinal Items (LEMI)
Visit the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care website and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners website for more information.
Resources and demos are also available below for:
- Best Practice users: Active Ingredient Prescribing: What Does It Mean For You?
- MedicalDirector users: Active Ingredient Prescribing is coming: here’s what you need to know
To discover more ways on how you can protect yourself from being hacked visit The Australian Cybersecurity Centre.