The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is supporting the Victorian and Australian governments’ moves towards real-time monitoring of controlled drugs including prescription opioids.
RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel says, “our renewed call for real-time recording follows the release of data on accidental overdoses that shows more Australians are now dying from pharmaceutical prescription opioids than from heroin overdoses.
“GPs and pharmacists are on the front line of this crisis and we desperately need a real-time tool to help us identify and support patients experiencing addiction to prescription drugs
“Real time monitoring is already in place in Tasmania where I work as a GP. It’s a vital tool for me and every GP and pharmacist in our state.
“I’d urge governments in other states to follow suit and talk with their local RACGP faculty and the Pharmacy Guild to ensure the best outcomes for our patients.
RACGP Victoria Chair Cameron Loy says “RACGP Victoria would like to congratulate Victoria’s Minister for Health Jill Hennessy for today progressing the introduction of a real-time prescription monitoring system in her state.
“GPs in Victoria have been closely involved in designing and reviewing what will be Victoria’s new system because of the risks of prescribing addictive medications, not just for patients who are doctor shopping but also for patients we have been seeing for a long time.
“It’s also very pleasing to see that the Victorian Government has agreed with the recommendations of the Real-Time Prescription Monitoring External Advisory Group that the new system should include high-risk Schedule 4 medicines benzodiazepines, zolpidem, zopiclone and quetiapine.
“The Victorian Government also deserves credit for investing $1 million to develop and deliver comprehensive training and education in this space for doctors and pharmacists across Victoria.”
The RACGP Victoria drug and alcohol committee offers support and mentoring to GPs who want to develop and update their skills.
RACGP Victoria also hosts the Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD) training program for GPs. Training places are available on 10 September, 22 October and 18 November. For more details visit the RACGP website.