SafeScript latest updates

Clinicians can now add an additional security method to their SafeScript profile. This additional verification means that you can still access SafeScript if your preferred security method is unavailable.

View the steps to set up this alternative authentication method here.

If you have lost access to your preferred authentication method and have not already set up your additional method, please contact the SafeScript technical support team on 1800 723 379.

The Department of Health and Human Services' SafeScript team are the winners of the 2019 National iAwards for Infrastructure & Platforms Innovation of the Year.

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) iAwards recognises and promotes excellence in Australian innovation that is making a difference and creating positive change for the community. This win highlights that SafeScript is not only important for Victorians, but also significant nationally as a digital health initiative that is already saving lives.

SafeScript has been recognised with merit in the Victorian Public Sector and Government and Infrastructure and Platforms Innovation of the Year categories at the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) iAwards 2019, the leading awards program for innovation in the digital economy!

SafeScript is also a winner of the Leadership in the Public Sector Award 2018 from the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) Victoria in the category of Evidence-based Policy. The Leadership in the Public Sector Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the public sector.

In an exciting new development, SafeScript is now more easily accessible on mobile devices. Clinicians can securely access SafeScript on the go, for example during home visits, via the SafeScript mobile site (mobile.safescript.vic.gov.au) on a mobile browser.

SafeScript has now rolled out across Victoria. Doctors, pharmacists and nurse practitioners can register through the invitation emailed to you or via the SafeScript website by clicking ‘Register’.

Click here for steps on how to integrate SafeScript with your clinical software. Take advantage of the new features in your clinical software and save time. Integrating SafeScript into clinical practice now will help you prepare for mandatory use of the system from April 2020.

When you are prescribing a monitored medicine in Best Practice, Medical Director, Genie or Zedmed, you will receive a pop-up notification on your desktop within seconds, colour-coded in either green, amber or red, to notify you when there is information in SafeScript which requires your attention. A click on the notification will take you directly to the patient's record rather than needing to go to the SafeScript website to search patient records.

SafeScript has received overwhelming support from clinicians. Thank you for helping us prevent avoidable harm from high-risk prescription medicines in Victoria!

SafeScript will automatically obtain prescription records from Prescription Exchange Services (PES) through an electronic transfer when a prescription is issued or dispensed by a medical clinic or pharmacy. No direct data entry will be required by clinicians.

For more information about electronic transfer of prescriptions, visit the RACGP electronic prescribing page.

Most community pharmacies and medical clinics (approximately 90 per cent) use software that is already connected to a PES. While it will be possible for clinicians to access SafeScript by logging into a web portal, using software that is connected to a PES will offer a superior and more efficient user experience.

Clinicians using software that is connected to a PES will receive pop-up notifications on their desktop when a medicine in-scope for monitoring has been prescribed or dispensed. This pop-up will inform clinicians whether the patient has a prescription history in SafeScript and if there are potentially high risk circumstances. Clicking on the notification will take a clinician directly to the relevant record in SafeScript.

Don’t know if your clinic or pharmacy is connected to a PES? Contact your software vendor.

Connecting to a PES is free of charge.

The Policy for maintenance pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence has changed. As of 2 July 2018, pharmacists providing pharmacotherapy services are required to record prescriptions for Opioid Replacement Therapy in their dispensing software.

As almost 70 per cent of pharmacies in Victoria are already capturing Opioid Replacement Therapy prescriptions in dispensing software, this change should have a minimal impact on work practices.

For more information, read the updated Policy for maintenance pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.