Fact Sheet

The law is changing - FAQs

On 1 November 2020, the Controlled Substances (Poisons) Regulations 2011 changed to allow
South Australia’s (SA’s) Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) system, ScriptCheckSA to
be implemented in late March 2021. This change affects how prescribers and pharmacists
record and report information about Monitored Drugs. Below are some Frequently Asked
Questions regarding these changes.

Do I need a Section 18A authority to prescribe a Monitored Schedule 4 drug?

No. Section 18A authorities are required for Schedule 8 drugs only.

I handwrite my prescriptions – what do I need to do?

You must keep a record of the details required per regulations 33(6) and 34(1) to be included
on the prescription, plus the patient’s DOB for all Monitored Drugs. You do NOT need to send a
copy of handwritten prescriptions to the Drugs of Dependence Unit.

Will information about handwritten prescriptions be available in

ScriptCheckSA?

Yes. Information from handwritten prescriptions will be captured when the Monitored Drug is
dispensed.

What are Monitored Drugs?

Monitored Drugs, as defined by the regulation 3(1), include:

 any Schedule 8 poison;

 any Schedule 4 poison that is a Benzodiazepine;
 any Schedule 4 poison that contains Codeine; and
 the following Schedule 4 poisons:
o Gabapentin;
o Pregabalin;
o Quetiapine;
o Tramadol;
o Zolpidem;
o Zopiclone.
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Are there changes to how I write a prescription for a Monitored Drug?

No.

Are there changes to how I dispense a prescription for a Monitored Drug?

No.

What information do I need to record when I prescribe or dispense a

Monitored Drug?

There is no change to the record keeping requirements for Schedule 8 drugs. The patient’s
DOB must now be recorded when you prescribe or dispense a Schedule 4 Monitored Drug.

Do I need to change how I handle (administer, store etc.) Schedule 8 drugs?

No.

Do the amendments to the regulations change the way the monitored

Schedule 4 drugs need to be administered, stored, counted or handled (e.g.
store like Schedule 8 drugs, including in a drug register)?

No.

Does ‘if the record is kept in electronic form’ (regulation 34 (1a)(b)) mean I
need to send a scanned copy of my handwritten prescriptions to the Drugs
of Dependence Unit?

No.

What does ‘data kept in an electronic form’ (regulation 34 (1a)(b)) mean?

If you use clinical software on a computer to generate a prescription for a Monitored Drug, this
record is considered to be kept in an electronic form, even if you print out and sign the
prescription.

How do I know if my software is integrated?

Your clinical software vendor or system administrator can confirm and help you activate it.
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I am using integrated software, what do I need to do after 1 November 2020?

Record the patient’s DOB for prescribed and dispensed Monitored Drugs. Confirm your
Prescription Exchange Service is activated by speaking with your software vendor. You do not
need to extract and send a monthly report.

My software is not integrated, what do I need to do?

Record the patient’s DOB for prescribed and dispensed Monitored Drugs. Extract this data from
your system and send this report monthly to the Drugs of Dependence Unit (see SA
Health/DDU for more details).

Pharmacists need to continue to transmit monthly returns of dispensed drugs as they do now
and ensure the information reported includes Schedule 4 Monitored Drugs in addition to
Schedule 8 drugs.

The monthly report must be extracted from your clinical software and can be in any format that
is generated by your software (i.e. CSV, excel, PDF, word document etc.).

I work in a hospital, what do I need to do?

The recording and reporting requirements for prescribers and pharmacists working in both
public and private hospitals are no different to those working in the community.

I use Sunrise to prescribe Monitored Drugs in a public hospital, what do I

need to do?

The central EMR Project Team will submit monthly data extracts of outpatient or discharge
prescriptions to the Drugs of Dependence Unit for all Sunrise-generated Monitored Drug
Prescriptions. No additional action from prescribers is required.

What about Imprest or Inpatient use of Monitored Drugs?

There is no change to the Monitored Drugs prescribed on medication chart prescriptions.

Can patients opt out of ScriptCheckSA (like they can with My Health
Record)?

No.

How does this law change link to the implementation of ScriptCheckSA?

The change to the recording and reporting requirements in the Controlled Substances
(Poisons) Regulations 2011 is one of the first steps needed to implement ScriptCheckSA.
From 1 November 2020, information will begin to populate ScriptCheckSA which will mean
when the system is released to all prescribers and pharmacists across SA, it will contain
approximately four months of patient history.
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Other key steps in the implementation of ScriptCheckSA include:

1 November 2020  Controlled Substances (Poisons) Regulations 2011 include

new record keeping and reporting requirements for
prescribers and pharmacists, to allow data collection for
ScriptCheckSA.
 Further information about these changes, including the list
of monitored drugs, can be found on SA Health CS
Regulations.
October 2020 –  ScriptCheckSA will undergo user (prescriber and
February 2021 pharmacist) testing of the supporting training and education
materials.
March 2021  Prior to release of ScriptCheckSA, public information, and
free online training and support resources will be available
to all AHPRA registered prescribers and pharmacists.
Late March 2021  ScriptCheckSA released for use by prescribers and
pharmacists across SA.
 NOTE: use of ScriptCheckSA will be voluntary for a
transition period of at least 12 months following state-wide
release.

Where can I get more information about ScriptCheckSA?

Refer to the ScriptCheckSA webpage. Any questions about ScriptCheckSA should be

directed to Health.RTPM@sa.gov.au.

For more information

Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM)

Health Protection and Licensing Services
PO Box 6, Rundle Mall
SA 5000
(08) 8226 7100
www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/scriptchecksa

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© Department for Health and Wellbeing,

Government of South Australia. All rights
reserved.