DP1

• To be eligible for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) supply, a prescription must be:

  valid under state or territory law, written by an approved PBS prescriber.
• script requirements

  • the prescriber's name, address, number and contact details
  • the patient’s name and address
  • PBS or RPBS
  • enough information to identify the pharmaceutical benefit including name, form, strength, quantity and number of repeats
  • if the prescriber noted that brand substitution was not permitted
  • the authority approval number
  • the streamlined authority code
  • the prescriber's signature and date (12 month expiry, sometimes 6). duplicate
• pbs started

  1948
• who is eligble for pbs

  australian residents that hold medicare card. overseas visitors from countries that Australia has a reciprocal health care agreement (RHCA) (UK, Ireland, NZ, Malta, Italy, Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Belgium and Slovenia. must show their passport and contact services Australia
• what is the RPBS

  the RPBS is administered by the Department of veteran affairs: DVA. and can be used by veterans with eligible cards to access PBS medicines and other medicines listed on the RPBS at a discounted rate. white card - RPBS and PBS for special conditions. orange + gold - all PBS and RPBS.
• what is medicare

  a universal health insurance scheme that provides rebates for services/procedures by GPs and other medical practitioners, ensures free treatment for public patients at public hospitals and ensures access to medications under the PBS. australian and new Zealand citizens, aus permanent residents and people from countries with reciprocal agreements UK, Ireland, NZ, Malta, Italy, Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Belgium and Slovenia. are eligible. funded by government and tax payers, have a card to prove eligability
• posions standard

  the poisons standard is a record of decisions on the classification of medicines and chemicals into schedules. it includes model provisions for containers and labels and recommendations about other controls on medicines. classifies meds into schedules depending on how much control and regulation they require to ensure public health and safety. made by TGA, each state has varying schedules.
• pharmacy schedules

  2 - pharmacy medicine - can only be sold in a pharmacy, pharmacist must be available. 3 - pharmacist only - pharmacist must be involved in the transaction, medications need to be stored out of public access. 4 - prescription only - can only be dispensed on a valid prescription. 8 - controlled drugs - medications with a high risk of dependence/abuse/misuse, need to be stored in a safe. 9 - prohibited substances. schedules depend on the medication, strength and pack size
• medicine safety + qum

  preventing and managing medication-related errors and consequent harm in a person's medicines-taking/using journey. appropriate prescription, dispensing and administering to patients. QUM selecting medications wisely, choosing the correct medicines, using medicines safely and effectively
• Steps involved in dispensing medication:

  • Assessing a prescription
  • Recording details of the prescription
  • Clinical review
  • Preparing, packaging, and labelling the prescribed medicine
  • Supplying the medicine (including counselling) to the patient or agent administering medicine
• Objectives of dispensing medication:

  • Ensuring the prescribed medication is safe and appropriate
  • Supplying the correct medication
  • Ensuring information on labels is correct and appropriate
  • Providing the patient with appropriate information and advice
• Process of dispensing medication:

  • Assessing the prescription
  • Gathering information
  • Reviewing the medicine
  • Collaborating with the prescriber
  • Preparing dispensed medicines
  • Labelling the medicines
  • Counselling the patient
• safety net threshold

  concession - 36 scripts or $277.20, general $1647.90.
• brand price premiums


  some brands charge a premium that is not subsided by the PBS. the PBS covers the lowest price brand of a medication minus the copayment amount. the premium is payed for by the patient and goes to the supplier not the government.
• section 100

  provides for alternative ways of providing a medicine when the usual supply though community pharmacies is unsuitable (may be cost of storage or supervision in administration etc) there are several programs in this provision (highly specialised drug program and the IVF program)
• aip

  active ingredient prescribing. prescribers must include the activ eingredient names when preparing prescriptions, therefore most medicines are prescribed by their active ingredient not their brand name. helps to increase consumer health literacy and standardise medication descriptions
• lemi

  list of excluded medicines, legally excluded from meeting aip requirements. only contains pbs items, prescribed by brand name only for practical and or safety purposes
• annotation

  annotate the script with the date the prescriber was contacted, their advice, your name and signature. record discussion in dispense history. new script / doctor annotations for - authorities, different item, additional item, schedule 8, increasing quantity or repeats, changing date, different patient, different prescriber, changing repeat forms.
• dispense checklist

  prescription number, item prescribed (Rx), strength, dosage form, directions prescribed (Sig), directions expanded, quantity to dispense (Mitte), repeats authorised, PBS status. is it legal? schedule, valid PBS, price premiums/change of brands. therapeutic elements - indications, dosage, directions, interactions, special considerations for patient, CALs. dispensing - clear instructions, brand, expiry date, container quality, appearance
• legal requirements for a script

  prescriber name, number, address, contact details and signature. the drug name, quantity, prescription date and repeats. patient name and residential address
• which variables need to be assessed to determine PBS eligiblity

  drug name, strength, number of repeats and quantity
• tpx and spx


  items with a premium are listed twice as authority and non-authority items. authorities with exemption of premiums are TPX at the beginning of the phone approval/authority number. spx is special patient contribution. TPX is repeat mainly
• act/MPGR labelling requirements


  name of med, name of med active ingredients, quantity of active ingredients, name of dosage form, quantity of med,
• pbs script requirements


  prescriber name, address, and prescriber number. patient’s name and address, PBS or RPBS, the name, strength and form of medicine, the dose and instructions for use, the quantity and number of repeats, doctor signature, date, patient’s Medicare number and any entitlement details, whether a brand substitution is permitted, authority prescription number, authority approval number