The recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a devastating loss of life and significant disruption to the daily lives of every Australian. In addition to restrictions and measures imposed on recreation and socialisation with family and friends, it’s heaped more strain on an already under-pressure medical system.
However, black clouds often have silver linings, and in this case, one such silver lining is that the Australian Government has fast tracked the implementation of electronic prescriptions (ePrescribing) nationwide to reduce unnecessary community contact, and prevent the spread of the virus.
ePrescribing is a measure that, at any time, might be a convenience, but with current events is a crucial measure in preventing the spread of the virus. According to a fact sheet released by the Australian Government Department of Health, many people will not contract COVID-19, and 80% of those who do are likely to only experience mild illness. However, there are vulnerable members of the community, such as the elderly or those with chronic conditions, who are at greater risk of serious illness.
For these members of the community, ePrescribing is a measure that will carry great benefit, while also protecting frontline practice staff, pharmacists, retail workers and other shoppers.
Under the new measures, ePrescriptions and medication dispensing will be fast-tracked for 80 percent of General Practices and community pharmacies over the next eight weeks.
How is Best Practice Software Implementing ePrescribing?
Our team has acted quickly and is prioritising the development of this functionality for our next release of Bp Premier. It will be present in the Jade SP3 update, which has an expected release date in June.
How Do I Get My Practice Ready?
If your Practice is currently on a version of Bp Premier older than Jade, we strongly recommend upgrading to Jade SP2 ahead of the Jade SP3 update. Updating to Jade SP2 now will give you and your Practice staff time to become familiar with changes introduced through Jade SP2, and will lessen the impact of upgrading to Jade SP3 – which will leave more time for your Practice to adapt quickly to the new ePrescribing functionality.
It is understandable that during this unprecedented but still very busy time, a software update might seem like an inconvenience more than anything. However, we’re committed to supporting your Practice during this difficult time.
We’ve also pre-booked regular interactive FAQ sessions to provide you with access to a Best Practice Software Support Specialist, should you have any questions about the upgrade process. Click here to book a session and get your Practice-specific questions answered!
Finally, don’t forget that if your Practice uses Bp Premier, you can always access our free, extensive Knowledge Base from within your software by accessing the Help menu, and then selecting ‘Online’. By typing in ‘Upgrade’ you’ll find comprehensive guides on how to make upgrading your version of Bp Premier more manageable.
View All of Our ePrescribing Resources Here
We’ve developed numerous videos from a practitioner, patient and pharmacist’s point of view, a podcast of FAQs, recorded webinar, helpful posters and more here.