National Health (Paperless Prescribing, Dispensing and Claiming Trial) Special Arrangement 2025

I, Sam Peascod, Assistant Secretary, Digital and Service Design Branch, make the following special arrangement.

Dated 25 March 2025   

Sam Peascod

Contents

1  Name

2  Commencement

3  Authority

4  Definitions

5  Pharmaceutical Benefits covered by this Special Arrangement

6  Application of Part VII of the Act

7  Prescribing of pharmaceutical benefits

8  Supply of pharmaceutical benefits

9  Claims for supply of pharmaceutical benefit

1  Name

(1) This instrument is the National Health (Paperless Prescribing, Dispensing and Claiming Trial) Special Arrangement 2025.

  (2) This Special Arrangement may also be cited as PB 35 of 2025

2  Commencement

(1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under subsection 100(1) of the National Health Act 1953.

4  Definitions

Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:

1.      Chief Executive Medicare;
2.      PBS Prescriber;
3.      Pharmaceutical Benefit;
4.      Secretary;
5.      CTS Claim

  In this instrument:

Act means the National Health Act 1953.

approved supplier has the same meaning as in Part VII of the Act and whose name and address is specified in Column 2 of the Schedule to this instrument.

authority approval number has the meaning given by the Regulations.

authority prescription means an authority prescription as defined in the Regulations.

hospital means the hospital whose name and address is specified in Column 1 of the Schedule to this instrument.

patient of the hospital means an in-patient who occupies a bed in the hospital for the purpose of hospital treatment, or an out-patient who receives hospital treatment.

electronic medication charting system means a system which facilitates the electronic management of medications and associated electronic medication chart orders for patients of the hospital specified in Column 1 of the Schedule to this instrument.

electronic medication chart order means an order for a medicine, prepared and approved electronically and which forms part of the hospital’s electronic medication charting system for the purpose of treating a patient of the hospital.

other Special Arrangement means another Special Arrangement under section 100 of the Act.

Regulations means the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 2017.

Rules means the National Health (Supply of Pharmaceutical Benefits—Under Co‑payment Data and Claims for Payment) Rules 2022.

5  Pharmaceutical Benefits covered by this Special Arrangement

1.     This Special Arrangement applies to each pharmaceutical benefit that is generally available for supply under Part VII of the Act.
2.     This Special Arrangement does not apply to a pharmaceutical benefit that can only be supplied under Part VII of the Act in accordance with any other Special Arrangement.

6  Application of Part VII of the Act

1.     Each pharmaceutical benefit supplied in accordance with this Special Arrangement is supplied under Part VII of the Act.
2.     A provision of Part VII of the Act, or of the Regulations or other instruments made for Part VII of the Act, applies subject to this Special Arrangement.

  Note: See subsection 100(3) of the Act.

7  Prescribing of pharmaceutical benefits

1.     A PBS prescriber may only prescribe a pharmaceutical benefit under this Special Arrangement by creating an electronic medication chart order within an electronic medication charting system in accordance with the requirements of section 41 of the Regulations, as modified by this section.
2.     An order for the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit under this Special Arrangement may only be made for the purpose of treating a patient of the hospital specified in Column 1 of the Schedule.

Creating electronic medication orders ‑ generally

1.     Paragraph 41(2)(c) of the Regulations does not apply to the creation of an electronic medication chart order within an electronic medication charting system under this Special Arrangement.
2.     The PBS prescriber must electronically authorise the order in the electronic medication charting system.

Creating electronic medication orders ‑ authority prescriptions

1.     If the prescription is an authority prescription, the electronic medication chart order must contain each authority approval number for the prescription or the relevant streamlined authority code (if any) for the pharmaceutical benefit that is prescribed.
2.     An order for the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit made in accordance with this section is, for the purposes of the Regulations (other than section 61) and the Rules, taken, to be a medication chart prescription written in accordance with section 41 of the Regulations.

Prescription in paper‑based form is not required

1.     The PBS prescriber is not required to also provide the prescription to the approved supplier in paper‑based form.

8  Supply of pharmaceutical benefits

1.     An approved supplier may supply a pharmaceutical benefit under this Special Arrangement if the order for the pharmaceutical benefit is for the purpose of treating a patient of the hospital specified in Column 1 of the Schedule.
2.     The approved supplier may supply the pharmaceutical benefit to the person under this Special Arrangement only if the approved supplier is specified in Column 2 of the Schedule.
3.     Sections 45, 47 and 51 of the Regulations apply to the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit by an approved supplier under this Special Arrangement, with the following modifications:
   1.     a reference to a medication chart prescription is taken to be a reference to an electronic medication chart order;
   2.     section 45 applies as if:
      1.       it required the approved supplier, or a person authorised for the purpose by the approved supplier, to verify in the electronic medication chart order that the pharmaceutical benefit has been supplied and the date on which it was supplied; and
      2.       paragraph 45(2)(d) were omitted; and
   3.     a reference in section 51 to writing the words “immediate supply necessary” on the prescription is taken to be a reference to including those words in the electronic medication charting system.

9  Claims for supply of pharmaceutical benefit

1.    An approved supplier may make a claim for payment for the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit under this Special Arrangement in accordance with the Rules for a CTS claim and the associated provisions under section 99AAA of the Act.
2.    If the Chief Executive Medicare notifies the approved supplier in writing that a copy of the electronic medication chart order is required to be submitted, the approved supplier must submit a copy of the electronic medication chart order to the Department administered by the Minister who administers the Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997.
3.    If the Chief Executive Medicare notifies the hospital in writing that a copy of the electronic medication chart order is required to be submitted, the approved supplier must submit a copy of the electronic medication chart order to the Department administered by the Minister who administers the Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997.

Electronic pharmacy records

1.    For each supply of a pharmaceutical benefit based on an electronic medication chart order in respect of which a claim is made under section 99AAA of the Act by an approved supplier, the supplier must:
   1.     prepare an electronic pharmacy record; and
   2.     retain the electronic pharmacy record for not less than two years after the day on which the pharmaceutical benefit was supplied.

Note: This subsection establishes record keeping requirements that correspond to the requirements contained in section 61 of the Regulations.

1.    The electronic pharmacy record must contain all information required to be given to the Secretary by an approved supplier in relation to the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit for the purpose of treating a patient of the hospital listed in the Schedule to the Rules for a CTS claim.
2.    If the Chief Executive Medicare notifies the approved supplier in writing that a copy of an electronic pharmacy record is required to be submitted, the approved supplier must submit a copy of the record to the Department administered by the Minister who administers the Human Services (Centrelink) Act 1997.
3.    A notification given under subsection (2), (3) or (6) may apply to one or more electronic medication chart orders or electronic pharmacy records, as appropriate.

PAPERLESS PRESCRIBING, DISPENSING AND CLAIMING TRIAL SCHEDULE