Pharmacists are being urged to make sure they are ready for changes coming into effect from Monday 1 February 2021, which will see mandatory active ingredient listings on medicines, with some exceptions.
The inclusion of the active ingredient will be mandatory for all Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits (RPBS) prescriptions with a small number of exceptions, such as for vaccines, hand-written prescriptions and prescriptions with four or more active ingredients.
NPS MedicineWise medical adviser and GP Dr Jill Thistlethwaite says the changes will not affect pharmacy workflow or processes, or consumer choices, but will help consumers to understand more about the medicines they are taking.
“These prescribing changes are an excellent opportunity for pharmacists to talk to consumers about their medicines, and what active ingredients they contain,” says Dr Thistlethwaite.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) National President Associate Professor Chris Freeman also says that while current pharmacy workflows or processes largely won’t change, pharmacists should continue talking with consumers about their medicines active ingredient names where possible.
“Pharmacists have an important role to play when it comes to explaining to patients why their prescriptions may look different,” he said.
“When these changes come into effect it is critical that pharmacy staff are prepared to have the necessary conversations with patients and continue to provide information about the brand options available to them.
“It may take some time for patients to get used to describing their medicines by the active ingredient names; however, in the longer term it will improve medication safety by reducing potential confusion of multiple brands of the same active ingredient.”
To support pharmacies, and ensure consumers have continued access to PBS and RPBS subsidised medicines during the transition to Active Ingredient Prescribing, the Department has agreed to provide a six-month grace period for pharmacy, ceasing 31 July 2021.
Within this period, if a pharmacy receives a prescription that does not meet active ingredient prescribing requirements the pharmacist should contact the prescriber and request the prescription be re-issued.
If the prescriber is unable to issue a compliant prescription for any reason, the pharmacy may supply and claim for the medicine as normal under the PBS or RPBS without penalty.
From 1 August 2021, new prescriptions that do not meet active ingredient prescribing requirements cannot be dispensed as PBS prescriptions and will need to be reissued in alignment with active ingredient prescribing requirements or dispensed as private prescriptions.
