Standards Australia has asked for industry submissions to design a platform for electronic delivery of prescriptions in Australia.

The need for Australian consumers to maintain their right to choose a pharmacy has been flagged as a major priority for the new platform.

Standards Australia is also keen to en ensure interoperability between service providers.

Earlier this year, the federal government agreed to provide individual pharmacies with a subsidy of 15 cents for each prescription dispensed to help pharmacists offset the cost of changing to electronic prescriptions. This includes a requirement for prescription exchange vendors to comply with NEHTA specifications within two years of the final specifications being released.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners estimates there are 25,726 General Practitioners (GPs), working in approximately 7,500 general practices in Australia.

It is estimated that 96.7%1 of practices have a computer for clinical or administrative use, these computers are predominantly used for prescribing, receiving pathology results electronically and for Internet use. In terms of medical records, 53.5% have electronic medical records and are completely paperless, and 34% report using a hybrid system of part paper and part electronic.