A new online website for keeping track of a person’s prescription drugs has been launched in the ACT with doctors and pharmacists urged to sign up.
DAPIS Online Remote Access, or DORA, is an online clinical tool which will help to reduce the harm that can be caused by people misusing pharmaceuticals.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Meegan Fitzharris said that for the first time in the ACT, eligible prescribers and pharmacists will have information available to them to assist in making better and safer clinical decisions for their patients, before a prescription is written or dispensed.
“ACT health professionals with access to DORA will be able to view all controlled medicines that have been dispensed to their patient in the ACT,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“Whilst controlled medicines play an important role in patient treatment, unfortunately some controlled medicines can lead to an addiction, or even an overdose, when patients are able to access these medications inappropriately and-or too frequently.”
She said the system would help health professionals to identify unusual patterns of use by a patient, such as incorrect, inappropriate and over-use.
“Controlled medicines include strong opioids used for pain such as oxycodone and morphine, but they can also include stimulants such as dexamfetamine prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“Unfortunately, the misuse of pharmaceuticals is a nationwide problem and tragically the number of harms, including deaths, from prescription medicines is now higher than illegal drugs.”
She said DORA had put the ACT on the front foot for adopting national real time prescription monitoring in the future, as the Federal Government planned to implement its national monitoring system from this year.
“The ACT Government is supportive and plans to adopt the full functions of the national system, following the rollout of DORA,” Ms Fitzharris said.
She said DORA was an extension of the Drugs and Poisons Information System (DAPIS), which was the business system used by ACT Health to monitor the prescribing and supply of controlled medicines.
