SafeScript - Corum Health

SafeScript is an initiative implemented by state governments together with pharmacists and prescribers which is being rolled out progressively by state. It works by sending prescribing and dispensing records for high-risk medicines to a centralised database (NDE), enabling prescribers and dispensers to access these details and be notified in real-time of the clinical risk associated with the current prescription.

NOTE

Pharmacies in Victoria have had access to an earlier SafeScript notification mechanism where high-risk drugs were checked after they had already been dispensed. You do not need to use both: if you do, each notification will be displayed twice.

Integrated SafeScript is disabled by default in Corum Clear Dispense.

More information about SafeScript in Victoria can be found at https://www.health.vic.gov.au/safescript.

The SafeScript check takes place when you select a patient, a prescriber, and then start dispensing a high-risk drug. The check is carried out in the background, and you can continue to enter prescription information while the check takes place.

Once the check is complete, the result is displayed in a notification window at the bottom right of the screen.

Green notifications close automatically after 3 seconds. Amber and Red notifications require an action in response; click SafeScript Notification Examples below for more information.

SafeScript Notification Examples

Example	Description
	This busy/checking message is displayed while the SafeScript check is being carried out. It will be replaced by one of the following notifications when the check is complete.
	A GREEN notification will appear in the following situations: When there has not been a prescription issued/dispensed for a monitored medicine in the last 6 months, or When prescriptions for a monitored medicine in the last 6 months have been issued by the same prescriber/medical practice, and there are no alerts. Green notifications close automatically after 3 seconds.
	An AMBER notification appears in the following situations: When prescriptions for a monitored medicine in the last 6 months have been issued by more than one prescriber/medical practice, or 4 or more pharmacies. When the daily morphine equivalent dose (calculated based on an average over the last 90 days) is between 50mg and 100mg MED daily (i.e. a medium risk dose). Prescribers/pharmacists are required to click on the notification to review the patient history to assess whether it is safe or appropriate to prescribe/dispense a medicine.
	A RED notification appears when there is a current alert relating to the prescribing/dispensing history of a patient. These alerts are: Multiple provider episodes: When prescriptions from 4 or more prescribers/medical practices have been recorded in SafeScript within the last 90 days. High-risk drug combinations: When prescriptions for certain drug combinations have been recorded in SafeScript within the last 90 days. Methadone + a benzodiazepine Methadone + a long-acting opioid Fentanyl + a benzodiazepine Fentanyl + a long-acting opioid Opioid dose threshold: When the daily morphine equivalent dose (calculated based on an average over the last 90 days) exceeds 100mg MED daily (i.e. a high risk dose). Prescribers/pharmacists are required to click on the notification to review the patient history to assess whether it is safe or appropriate to prescribe/dispense a medicine

Actioning Notifications

For Amber and Red notifications, pharmacists are required to click on the notification to review the patient history and assess whether it is safe or appropriate to dispense a medicine.

Select the Click here link to review the details on the SafeScript portal in your web browser.

If you are unable to access the SafeScript portal (e.g. if you are a dispensary technician and do not have permission), or if SafeScript is inaccessible (e.g. you are having a temporary loss of internet connectivity), you can cancel the notification by clicking the X in its upper right-hand corner. If you cancel a notification, the SafeScript check will be repeated at the script barcode checking stage, and any relevant notification redisplayed.

NOTE

Green notifications close automatically after 3 seconds.

Prerequisites for Checking

The NDE requires certain minimum information to perform the SafeScript checks. This includes the patient’s address and date of birth, and the prescriber’s address.

Missing information is initially highlighted in the Notifications panel as you enter script details. The SafeScript check will take place once the required information has been entered. For example:

If the required information is still missing at script completion — and the SafeScript check has therefore not taken place — the necessary information is repeated in an error pop-up, along with any other issues that need to be addressed. For example:

The SafeScript check will take place once the required information has been entered, and you will be able to complete the script once any SafeScript notifications have been actioned.

NOTE

If a script is modified after the SafeScript check has been carried out, it will be checked again prior to dispensing.