Did you know that you no longer have to hoard a pile of papers in order to get your prescriptions filled?
Thanks to recent changes made to the Commonwealth legislation, electronic prescriptions are now recognised as a legal form to allow medicine supply in Australia.
While paper prescriptions are still available, the introduction of electronic prescriptions provides patients with a tech-savvy and convenient alternative, with leading pharmacies such as Discount Drug Stores releasing their own apps for patients.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Australian Government accelerated the delivery of the electronic prescriptions system to help protect those most at risk from the pandemic, with patient benefits including home-delivered medication and electronic script renewal, resulting in less time spent at the medical centre and pharmacy.
Considering making the switch once electronic prescriptions are available? Below, we list five of the biggest benefits of electronic prescriptions.
1. Never lose a prescription again
If you’ve ever misplaced a paper prescription (guilty), you’ll know the pain of having to rebook an appointment with your GP just to get your hands on a new script.
The efficient new electronic system streamlines the process of getting the script to you by being transferred directly from your phone and the pharmacy app, where it is stored. Because there is no hard copy of the prescription, the potential for losing the prescription is eliminated immediately. Win!
The app will also give you access to a handy digital list of your current prescriptions.
2. You can get a new prescription without booking an appointment
Electronic prescription apps such as the Discount Drug Stores app feature a ‘GP Link’ button that links you directly with your GP for repeat prescription requests.
As long as your GP is signed up to MedAdvisor’s GP Link service, you can simply renew a prescription this way, rather than having to make an appointment at your medical centre. When your doctor writes you an electronic prescription, they will send you a ‘Token’ which is an electronic message sent to your mobile phone or computer, which you can simply present to your pharmacist or forward to them by using the app.
3. Be notified about your medication
Life gets busy so it’s nice to be able to take something off our to-do lists.
Many pharmacy apps such as the Discount Drug Stores app will send you reminders when it is time to take your medication and order a new supply.
Not only will electronic prescriptions give people convenient access to their medicines, they will also improve patient safety by reducing the risk of errors.
4. Get your medication delivered
Depending on your pharmacy, electronic prescriptions can be sent in for pick-up-and-go service (meaning you won’t need to wait in line) or home delivery. The convenient changes will help to lessen the risk of infection being spread in community pharmacies.
5. Easily manage others’ scripts
One of the biggest benefits for customers is that they can also manage multiple family members’ medications at once.
As is currently the case with paper prescriptions, a family member or agent may collect your medicines for you, so as long as you send them the token with the barcode.
Those who have downloaded the Discount Drug Store app and are caring for others can use ‘Carer Mode’, which allows them to see multiple medication profiles from a single account.
To find out more about electronic prescriptions and to download the Discount Drug Stores app, click here.
Brought to you by Discount Drug Stores
