2026

Bella Rough A NEW national medicines record

“ Ensuring this information is accessible to a patient’ s usual GP and her regular care team had arranged for staged supply of her medicines. other members of a care team having a clear and up-to-date view of patients’ of what patients have been pre- other healthcare providers will sup-

She said that, after Erin’ s multiple medicines information through a

scribed and dispensed will be port safer clinical decision-making,” hospital admissions for medication national [ medicines ] record will make mandatory for all doctors to use, Mr Butler said. misuse, hospital staff had resorted to patients safer, reduce hospitalisations, including those in online-only clin- The changes follow a campaign by putting warning messages in Erin’ s and improve care across the health

ics, Minister for Health and Ageing Queenslander Alison Collins, whose

My Health Record, hoping that tele- system,” he said.

Mark Butler says. daughter Erin died in August at the

health doctors would see them and The government says it is consult-

But before the system is rolled age of 24 after overdosing on psychi- stop prescribing. ing on the record’ s design. out, the government will force tele- atric medicines prescribed through

RACGP president Dr Michael However, it has already sug- health clinics to upload prescribing different websites.

Wright said the government’ s plan gested the new system will make use and dispensing information to My Ms Collins told the ABC that the would hold telehealth providers to of existing eHealth infrastructure,

TRUSTED AUSTRALIAN MEDICINES REFERENCE Independent, evidence-based drug information for confident decision-making.

CONCISE FOR BUSY PRACTITIONERS Provides essential and practical details to facilitate point-of-care use.

UNIQUE COMPARATIVE INSIGHTS Comparative drug information supports users to make rational decisions.

WISE CHOICES Prioritises the quality use of medicines, contributing to safe and effective treatment options.

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The RACGP has told the department that the frequency and age caps make“ little clinical sense”.

The college is also calling for an item for GPs to order prostate multiparametric MRI as part of phase 1 to align with current best practice guidelines for investigation of raised PSA.

Phase 2 of the proposal would expand GP rebates to knee and other musculoskeletal MRIs.

Phase 3 would cover surveillance MRI for previously diagnosed conditions such as

The frequency and age caps make‘ little clinical sense’.

multiple sclerosis or musculoskeletal tumours, breast MRI for high-risk patients, pelvic MRI and brain MRI.

The proposals also include letting nurse practitioners and physiotherapists order Medicare-funded MRIs in phase 2, followed by other allied health workers in phase 3.

The RACGP says Medicare-funded requests by non-doctors should occur within multidisciplinary teams that include a GP, with potential scope for remote nurse practitioners to order scans as part of a collaborative arrangement with a doctor.

The department will present its proposals to the Federal Government.