Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions

Communicare can be configured for electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) to a central repository.

In Communicare V22.1 and later, Communicare supports ETP for both printed PBS prescriptions and ePrescribing.

If ETP is configured, whenever a prescription is created, the information is sent off to a central repository.

Note: Offline (Data Sync) Clients do not support ETP.
To enable ETP with Communicare, complete the following steps:
  1. Register at least one clinician in your organisation as a Prescriber at the eRx (www.erx.com.au) website. eRx is the ETP service that Communicare integrates with to enable ETP. With the registration, although individual prescriber details are entered, it allows ETP to be used by anyone in the same organisation.
  2. Contact Communicare Support to confirm that registration has been initiated and arrange for ETP to be enabled. Communicare Support will add the ETP service details to File > System Parameters > Web Services tab. For more information, see Script Exchange system parameters.
  3. Check that a locality is set for your encounter place. For Communicare to be able to transfer prescriptions to the ETP service, your encounter place must include a locality in File > Reference Tables > Encounter Place.
    Note: If ETP is enabled for your encounter place and no locality is set for your encounter place, or for your organisation in File > Organisation Maintenance, you can't save new prescriptions.
After you have set up ETP:
  • Whenever a PBS prescription is created, the information is sent off to the ETP service, such as eRx.
  • When you delete a PBS prescription, Communicare sends an update to the ETP service to cancel that medication. Similarly, if you stop a medication from a previous service that has been sent to the central repository, but do not represcribe it, a cancellation is sent.

For setting up ePrescribing, see ePrescribing for additional steps.

Data privacy and security

In Communicare V22.1 and later, for printed PBS prescriptions, your patients' relevant personal information is encrypted and sent from your Communicare server to an ETP service, such as eRx, via Communicare Next Generation. The data is retained by Communicare Next Generation. Communicare Next Generation is hosted on Microsoft Azure cloud services, in highly secure data centres based in Australia (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne) which meet the Australian Standards for Information Security. Microsoft has been awarded Certification for Protected data in Australia. For more information about how Telstra Health manages personal information, see our privacy policy.