Medication Management Configuration

Medications management changed significantly in V21.2 and later. Before you upgrade from V19.2 and earlier, consider the configuration options available for medications management in Communicare.

Your health service requires medications management if at your health service, healthcare providers require access to one or more of the following medication management functions: prescribe and chart medication orders or both; administer and supply medications or both; view medications; manage imprest cupboard; manage patient medication inventory and supply that’s been packed by an external pharmacist.

To configure Communicare for medication management, select the medication management scenario that applies to your health service.

Key Concepts: Medication Management

The primary elements for configuring medication management are described here. If you have more complex medication management requirements at your health service, for example extemporaneous preparations, recording medication history, custom prescription templates, speak to Communicare Support. The scenarios list all elements to be considered and configured.

Table 1. Primary medication management functionality
Record a Medication Medication Authorisation Record Administer and Supply Medication Stock
Prescriptions
  • PBS/Private Prescription
Medication Requests
  • Rural and Remote prescribing (such as, S100 Scheme, HCP, Rural Script)
  • External pharmacy fill the script and send to health service for supply
  • Patient inventory
Medication Order
  • Chart a medication order for administer or supply
Verbal Orders

  • Seek authorisation to administer or supply medication

Scope of Practice
  • Authorisation to chart a medication order without a verbal order.
 Administer and Supply
  • To record the administration or supply of medication
 Imprest

  • Medication cupboard, stock-on-shelf inventory

Consolidated Orders
  • Patient inventory of medications that are pack and labelled by an external pharmacist
Table 2. Primary configuration elements for medication management
System Parameters Providers Reference Tables User Groups Clinical Record
  • System Modules
  • Clinical - Prescribing Options
  • Prescription Forms
  • Web Services (if using Clinical Decision Support)
  • Prescriber Number
  • Verbal Order
  • Scope of Practice
  • Formularies
  • Formularies - Scope of practice
  • Address Book (if using consolidated orders)
  • Encounter Places (if using consolidated orders)
  • System Rights
  • Formulary Rights
  • Scope of Practice
  • Pickup location
  • DAA type
Table 3. Medication management configuration prompts
Question Functionality
Do you have doctors or nurse practitioners or both, who write prescriptions? This can be managed by using prescribing
Do you have an agreement with an external pharmacist who packs DAAs and medications for your patients to collect from the clinic? This can be managed by using medication requests
Do you have doctors or nurse practitioners or both, who chart medication orders for other clinicians to administer or supply medications to patients? This can be managed by using medication orders
Do nurses ring doctors who are off site for a medication chart order (to be signed later), for example verbal telephone orders? This can be managed by using verbal orders
Do nurses have a specific scope of practice to chart a medication order, for example nurse initiated medications or CARPA or a state based SASA orders that they administer or supply to patients? This can be managed by using scope of practice
Do you have nurses or health practitioners who administer or supply medications or both to patients? This can be managed by using administer and supply
Do you have a cupboard or stock-on-shelf imprest that you maintain and administer or supply medications to patients from? This can be managed by using imprest management
Do you order patient medications regularly from your external pharmacist and keep a patient inventory of DAAs and medications for patients to collect from your clinic? This can be managed by using medication requests and consolidated orders
Note: For sites that have Use Rural Prescription Form enabled in V19.2 that would like to continue to use the rural health centre prescription functionality in V21.3. See Scenario 13

For sites upgrading to V21.2 or later

Consider the following information before you upgrade:

  • Verbal Orders and Standing Orders - the Medications Management module must be enabled for verbal orders and scope of practice to be active. Without this module, the section on the provider table will not be visible. If Medications Management was already enabled before you upgraded, it will still be enabled.
  • Provider Table - the verbal order setting from the previous version will be maintained. The setting for standing orders will be copied to Scope of Practice. If previously set, this will remain set. Encounter places will remain as before.
  • Formularies - formulary names and the selected drugs are copied to the new version of Communicare. The setting for Standing Orders will be copied to Scope of Practice. If previously set this will remain set.
  • User Rights - formularies selected in the Formulary Rights tab for each user group are maintained. Set scope of practice rights in the new Scope of Practice list.