South Western Sydney PHN is a not-for-profit health organisation dedicated to supporting general practitioners, practice nurses and other primary health providers.
Electronic prescribing is an alternative to paper prescriptions, providing patients with convenient access to their medicines and reducing the risk of errors. Patients have a choice to receive either an electronic or a paper prescription – but not both.
Sent directly to the patient’s mobile phone or email by their GP, electronic prescribing promises secure and efficient supply of vital medicines.
They can also be added to an Active Script List if patients register for one. It’s a digital list of your electronic prescriptions and barcoded paper prescriptions, and a convenient option for those who take multiple medications.
Do you use electronic prescribing (ePrescribing) and Active Script Lists (ASL)? Do you talk to your patients about the benefits of ePrescribing and ASLs?
We would love to hear from you about your experience with ePrescribing and ASL.
ePrescribing is a convenient alternative to paper prescriptions. An electronic prescription is a prescription which is created and sent electronically, rather than on paper.
This means that instead of writing a prescription by hand, GPs can use their clinical software to create and send the prescription directly to their patient via SMS or email.
The patient takes their electronic prescription token to the pharmacy which scans the token to view the electronic prescription and dispenses the medicine. If the prescription has repeats, a new token is sent to the patient via SMS or email by the pharmacy.
What are the benefits of ePrescribing?
makes prescribing and dispensing medicines more efficient
removes the need for handling and storing a physical paper prescription
supports telehealth services
maintains patient privacy and integrity of personal information
provides greater choice for patients
reduces the risk of lost paper prescriptions
What is Active Script List?
The Active Script List (ASL) is another benefit of using ePrescribing.
An ASL is a digital list of all your patient’s current active electronic prescriptions and barcoded paper prescriptions.
When you issue your patient with a prescription, it is automatically added to their ASL.
The next time your patient visits their nominated pharmacy, the scripts can be accessed directly from the ASL without the need for the patient to present the token. If there are repeats, they will be automatically added to the ASL, unless the patient chooses to have them sent as a token via SMS or email.
What are the benefits of the ASL?
patients no longer need to keep track of the SMS or email tokens, this information is stored in one consolidated list
it overcomes the issue of misplacing token/s and the need for them to be reissued
it may be more convenient for patients who take multiple medicines
This article appeared in Practice Pulse on Wednesday, 2 July 2025. If you are a GP, practice nurse or practice manager in South Western Sydney and do not get the weekly Practice Pulse email, speak to your Practice Support Officer.
17 January 2023
Are you having trouble keeping track of your electronic prescriptions (ePrescriptions)?
The Department of Health and Aged Care has developed the My Script List (MySL), a list of all the ePrescriptions which you have been issued, including the medication name, the dosage and the number of refills.
MySL is perfect for patients with multiple scripts because you’ll no longer need to handle multiple tokens on your phone to show the pharmacist. You can walk into any pharmacy, give consent for them to access your script list, and have that pharmacy dispense your medicines.
Most Australian pharmacies are now registered to receive electronic prescriptions, making it easier to dispense and keep records of scripts. Electronic prescribing is another step in the journey towards a more modern, connected healthcare system.
What is an ePrescription?
An electronic prescription is a prescription which is created and sent electronically, rather than on paper. This means that instead of writing a prescription by hand, a healthcare professional can use a computer or tablet to create and send the prescription directly to a pharmacy. This can save time and reduce errors, as well as allowing for prescriptions to be sent remotely.
Token
A token is a small piece of data which can be used to access electronic prescriptions. Tokens are typically used to ensure only authorised healthcare professionals can access and view a patient’s prescriptions. Tokens can be sent via text message or email and can be used to access the patient’s prescriptions from any device which has internet access.
My Script List
My Script List (MySL) is an Active Script List (ASL) developed by the Department of Health and Aged Care. It is a list of all the prescriptions which have been issued for a patient, including the medication name, the dosage and the number of refills. The list is updated in real-time and can be accessed by authorised healthcare professionals, including GPs and specialists, to ensure the patient is receiving the correct medications and dosages. This also allows for better coordination of care between different healthcare professionals.
Who can access My Script List?
MySL is perfect for patients with multiple scripts as the patient no longer needs to handle multiple tokens on their phone to show the pharmacist. The patient can walk into any pharmacy, give consent for them to access their script list, and have that pharmacy dispense their medicines.
Learn more about the benefits of electronic prescriptions via this video.
How do I set up my medical practice for ePrescribing?
MediSecure and eRx are the two Prescription Exchange Services (PES) available in Australia.
Practitioners should ensure they are registered with eRXor MediSecure and have ePrescribing activated in their existing clinical software.
Provide your patients with information on MySL and assist them to register if your clinical software is enabled. Alternatively advise patients to register via their local pharmacy.
For further information on ePrescribing download FAQ for Doctors
Contact your software provider for information on prescribing ePrescriptions and registering your patients for MySL in your clinical software.
ePrescribing is now being rolled out across Australia, including South Western Sydney, and we’ve compiled some information to help healthcare providers better understand the new electronic prescribing arrangements.
Electronic prescribing allows prescribers and their patients to issue/use an electronic Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescription. Electronic prescribing will not fundamentally change existing prescribing and dispensing processes. Patients can still choose which pharmacy they attend to fill their prescription.
Prescribers and patients can choose an electronic prescription instead of a paper prescription. Paper prescriptions will still exist. However, choosing an electronic prescription helps with telehealth consultations, helps protect the community and healthcare workers from exposure to infectious diseases, may reduce dispensing errors and makes the prescribing/dispensing process more efficient.
Please note, if your practice would like to start using electronic prescriptions, contact your local pharmacies and make sure they are activated to be able to dispense the electronic prescriptions.
To activate ePrescribing in your clinical software, visit the Australian Digital Health Agency website and/or contact your SWSPHN Practice Support Officer.
31 August 2020
The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has been working closely with clinical software suppliers and clinical peak bodies to deliver paperless prescription known as ePrescription functionality for GPs and pharmacies.
At this stage, paperless prescriptions are only actively utilised if GPs and pharmacies in your region are part of an electronic prescribing ‘Community of Interest’ (COI). COI sites, including Moss Vale, are listed on the Digital Health Agency website.
Communities of Interest are testing the technology and clinical workflows to identify any issues or areas for improvement prior to broader use. This is to ensure any emerging issues are limited to these sites and remediated quickly. There is a real risk that if community pharmacies don’t have electronic prescriptions capability, patients will not be able to get their medicines dispensed and this will create additional work for practices when the patient has to return for a paper script.
The ADHA is working with pharmacies and their software suppliers to ensure they are ready as soon as possible and will advise GPs when there is broader pharmacy readiness. In the meantime, GPs are asked to encourage pharmacies to contact their dispensing software providers to activate electronic prescription dispensing functionality.
