Many lives will be saved if real-time prescription monitoring is introduced nationally according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
The Victorian Government’s announcement yesterday that it will introduce a live prescription monitoring service over the next year shows it has heeded the call for an effective monitoring system.
RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones said the RACGP had been advocating for more effective monitoring of prescription drugs for years and the Andrew’s Government initiative should be quickly replicated in every state.
‘It’s a pledge that will not only save lives in but should also galvanise change for the way prescriptions are monitored throughout the country,’ Dr Jones said.
‘An increasing number of people lose their lives in Victoria and in Australia through overdoses of prescription drugs, even more than through the scourges of illicit drug use or road accidents. It is an unnecessary tragedy,’ Dr Jones said.
Victoria will be the second Australian state to introduce the service. Tasmanian practices began using DORA (Drugs and poisons information system Online Remote Access) to track prescriptions for opioids and alprazolam a few years ago.
In 2015 there were 330 fatalities in Victoria resulting from overdoses involving pharmaceutical medicines and in the latest Ambulance Victoria data (2013-14) there were more ambulance callouts for misuse of pharmaceutical medicines (9,722) than for illicit drugs (7,015).
‘A real-time monitoring system will help GPs and medical professionals better identify prescription drug seekers earlier, but it is not a solution on its own, it needs to be part of a system-wide approach which includes general practices introducing some clinical governance within their facilities, and practitioners adhering to accountable prescribing standards,’ Dr Jones said.
‘That’s why the RACGP has developed guidelines and resources in this area. Drug and addiction services should also be better funded to deal with the likely increase in patient referrals.
‘Therefore, I particularly welcome the additional training and support announced by the Victorian Government, that will help GPs identify and help prescription drug users earlier.’
Once implemented, the Victorian system will allow clinicians at 1900 GP clinics, 1300 pharmacies and 200 hospitals to do on-the-spot checks before prescribing medicines that have a high risk of misuse.