RACGP supports MediSecure e-scrip solution

March 20, 2009:A contender for the secure electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) from doctors to pharmacists has gained the support of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

Created jointly by ArgusConnect, PSLnet and Medseed, the MediSecure e-prescription solution promises a standards-compliant solution that is open to all clinical and dispensing IT systems and is working now.

MediSecure is a response to initiatives taken by COAG and the Commonwealth Government which placed electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) and secure individual electronic health records (SIEHRs) at the top of the national E-Health agenda.

“The MediSecure e-prescription solution is committed to implementing Australian standards; Open interface specifications; Interconnectivity and equity of access with all IT vendors in medical practice and pharmacy; privacy protection and market contestability in relation to any e-prescribing exchange” said Ross Davey CEO of Argusconnect.

MediSecure uses technology developed for the eHealthNT trial of Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions, which was implemented by General Practice Network NT (GPNNT), a leading division of general practice. This trial adopted current and emerging standards, open design principles and open participation, as well as implementing the most recentHL7 Prescription Message standard. MediSecure incorporates HL7 and the emerging IT14 standards.

MediSecure Chairman, Paul Montgomery said “MediSecure is confident its working technology meets all the prevailing standards including best practice privacy requirements, it has in place a process to adapt to evolving standards fromNeHTA and others, and includes the HeSA PKI which provides for message encryption, digital signing and authentication. Overall, we believe we have carefully positioned our offer to meet the current and future requirements for a standards-compliant contestable market solution that is acceptable to government and the standards setters in medical practice.”

MediSecure is committed to publishing all interface specifications so all vendors are able to connect to the secure Script Vault. This commitment tointerconnectivity means prescribers who deliver scripts to our Script Vault can have peace of mind that scripts will be delivered to pharmacies even if they are connected to other commercial script exchanges, subject to commercial arrangements between exchanges being completed.

“RACGP supports MediSecure because it is designed to meet existing and evolving standards for e-prescribing and delivers many benefits to GPs and other medical practitioners. Consumers will benefit from reduced medication errors, ease of obtaining repeats and refills. Doctors will save time in the prescribing process, receive immediate feedback when a script or repeat has been filled and with apatient's permission, be able to view their consolidated medication record. Pharmacists will also save time and money in the dispensing process. We look forward to the enthusiasm ofGPs and pharmacists in supporting this e-health development.” said Dr Chris Mitchell, RACGP President.

ArgusConnect currently connects over 8,000 healthcare practitioners, whilst PSLnet is a Secure Trading Exchange with the capacity to electronically connect every Pharmacy in Australia.

“ArgusConnect is proud to be involved in this important development in the Australian Health Industry. Secure communication of prescriptions is a logical extension of our current provision of messaging capability that focuses on clinical reporting between healthcare providers.

MediSecure takes technologies and lessons learned from the eHealthNT ETP project in Darwin for which we were the main technology provider and uses the same standards and privacy controls. MediSecure applies these to a practical and sustainable implementation with a strong business model” said Ross Davey, CEO of ArgusConnect.

MediSecure is open to all Pharmacy and Medical Practice software vendors. Pharmacists will pay as little as $0.25 per script but save up to two minutes with each script dispensed while knowing the process is free of transcription and data entry errors. There is no cost to Doctors who will also save time prescribing electronically and be notified each time a script or repeat is filled, as well as additional benefits.

MediSecure Chairman, Paul Montgomery said “MediSecure will be advised by all sectors of the Australian Health industry. The RACGP chairs our Advisory Board and we are seeking representatives from the AMA, Divisions of General Practice, Specialist Colleges, Pharmacists professional and commercial organisations as well as consumer representatives to sit on the company’s Advisory Board to ensure theMediSecure e-prescription solution benefits all sectors of the industry and the Australian community.”Building on the successful eHealthNT experience, the MediSecure Pilot commences in April 2009 and commercial trading in July 2009.

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