EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
National Health Act 1953
National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Amendment (Approved Residential Care Services) Special Arrangement 2020
PB 11 of 2020
Authority
This instrument is made under section 100(2) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act).
Subsection 100(1) of the Act enables the Minister to make special arrangements for the supply of pharmaceutical benefits. Subsection 100(2) of the Act provides that the Minister may vary or revoke a special arrangement made under subsection 100(1).
Subsection 100(3) of the Act provides that Part VII of the Act, and instruments made for the purposes of Part VII of the Act, have effect subject to a special arrangement made under subsection 100(1).
Purpose
The National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Special Arrangement 2018 (the Principal Instrument) allows three electronic medication management software vendors to trial their electronic medication order chart systems for the purposes of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in twelve approved residential care services. These systems provide a fully electronic version of the paper based residential medication chart currently available in all Australian approved residential care services.
The trial allows approved prescribers (usually general practitioners) within approved trial facilities to prescribe pharmaceutical benefits directly from the electronic medication order chart system without developing a second paper-based prescription (often referred to as a medication order). Once rendered and electronically authenticated, these medication orders are sent directly to the approved supplier’s dispensing software (or made available by electronic means) for dispensing. Once dispensed, the pharmaceutical item is sent to the approved residential care service for administration to the patient, and a claim for payment is sent electronically to the Chief Executive Medicare by the approved supplier.
The purpose of the National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Amendment (Approved Residential Care Services) Special Arrangement 2020 (PB 11 of 2020) (the Amending Instrument) is to amend the Schedule to this Special Arrangement to allow additional residential aged care facilities to participate in the trial. These additional residential aged care facilities have been incorporated within the trial to allow the Department to evaluate the medicines’ safety and quality impacts of transitioning from a paper based medication chart to an electronic National Residential Medication Chart system; implementation barriers; and costs and considerations for residential aged care facilities seeking to implement these systems. The trial remains restricted to the three electronic medication management software providers identified within the original trial arrangement.
A provision by provision description of the Amending Instrument is contained in Attachment 1.
Consultation
The Department consulted with the facilitating software vendor who supported the amendment, and relevant state and territory governments.
Commencement
The Amending Instrument commences the day after registration.
The Amending Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
ATTACHMENT 1
Provision by provision description of the National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Amendment (approved Residential Care Services) Special Arrangement 2020 (PB 11 of 2020)
Section 1 Name
This section provides for the Amending Instrument to be referred to as the National Health (Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Trial) Amendment (approved Residential Care Services) Special Arrangement 2020, and that it may also be cited as PB 11 of 2020.
Section 2 Commencement
This section specifies that the legislation will come into effect from the day after the instrument is registered.
Section 3 Authority
This section provides that the Special Arrangement is made under section 100(2) of the National Health Act 1953.
Section 4 Schedules
This section provides for the amendments being made to the Schedule to the original instrument, adding additional sites to the Special Arrangement, enabling them to participate in the National Health Electronic National Residential Medication Chart trial.
The Schedule
The Schedule specifies the name, address and approval number of the residential care services participating in this Special Arrangement; the name, address and approval number of the approved supplier associated with each residential care service participating in this Special Arrangement; and the electronic medication management system software vendor associated with each residential care service.