Finalise Prescriptions

You can finalise prescriptions to send for ePrescribing, print or update without printing out prescriptions.

If you are using ePrescribing, tokens for finalised ePrescriptions are sent to the patient or their carer using SMS or email, via a central repository, such as eRx. Prescriptions are also added to the Active Script List unless consent is withdrawn.

To use the ePrescribing options in V22.1 and later, your health service, prescribers and local pharmacies must be prepared. For more information, see ePrescribing.

Tip: To finalise prescriptions, you must be a prescriber and have a prescriber number.

Table 1. Patient prescription formats
Type	Format	Description
Printed	Printed Prescription	A traditional paper script is printed for you to hand to the patient.
ePrescribing options - visible only if ePrescribing is enabled	SMS ePrescription	A token is texted to the patient's mobile phone. They present this token at the pharmacist.
	Email ePrescription	A token is emailed to the patient's email address. They present this token at the pharmacist.
	Printed ePrescription Token	The token is printed for you to hand to the patient. This is not a prescription and does not require a signature. Use this option if the patient does not have a smart phone or email address, or if the token is not transmitted successfully by other methods.
Record updates only	Don't Print or Send	For updates to medications only. No token is generated and the prescription is not printed.

To finalise prescriptions, generate script numbers and send to eRx:

In the clinical record, on the Summary > Medication Summary tab, click Finalise Prescriptions.

Tip: Alternatively, on the Medication Summary tab or Detail tab, right-click on a medication and select Finalise prescriptions.
In the Finalise Prescriptions window, all current medications that have not been finalised or printed are listed and selected. If medication requests are enabled and Create Medication Request by Default is set, regular medications are added to the medication request instead (for more information, see ). In the Create Prescriptions step, deselect any medications in the table for which you don't want to create a printed or electronic prescription.
From the Patient Prescription Format options, select the way in which you want the prescription to be delivered to the patient, their carer or the pharmacy, if at all (see Table 1).
Tip: Patients must have a IHI number to receive ePrescription tokens. If the patient's preference for how they want to receive their scripts is selected in Biographics > Personal tab, Prescription Format, this option is selected. If there is no option selected, Printed Prescription is set by default.
For SMS or email options, the information included in the patient's biographics, if any, is displayed. Customise this information for only this prescription if required: phone numbers must be 10 or 11 characters; email addresses must be valid. Any new information you add here is not saved back to the patient's biographics.
If medication requests are enabled for your health service, and you want to create a medication request, you can either do so now or after you finalise the medications from the Medication Summary tab.

Tip: You cannot create medication requests for back-dated services.

If you want to create a medication request now:
1. In the Create Medication Request step, set Yes.
  - The patient's current medications that were included in a previous medication request are listed with a status of Existing.
  - If Create Medication Request by Default is set, any new regular medications are selected with a status of New.
  - All active regular medications, DAA medications and medications that are included in the current, active request are selected by default.
  - Medications included in a DAA are grouped by DAA type and assigned a number. Items included in the same DAA type cannot be separated.
  - For medications that are already finalised, the number of the prescription to which the medication belongs is displayed.
2. Deselect any medications that you don't want to include in the new medication request.
3. If you are arranging supply of the patient-specific medication, from the Pickup Location list, select the location from which the patient will collect their medication. If the pickup location is already set in the clinical record Medication Summary, that location is included in the medication request automatically. If the current encounter place is a nominated medication pickup location, it is selected as the pickup location by default. For more information, see Encounter Place.
4. From the Medication Request Format options, if you want to print the medication request, set Printed Medication Request. Alternatively, if you don't need a printed medication request or are using consolidated orders, set Don't print.
Click Finalise.
If you selected an ePrescribing option (see Table 1), patient, prescriber and medication details are displayed in the Preview Prescription window.

Tip: This process simulates the paper prescribing process, where you check the printed prescription before signing it.

Details for the prescriber who is finalising the prescription are listed, regardless of whoever initially prescribed the medication.
1. To step through and review each prescription, click Next.
2. To complete the prescription, click Send All.
If you find something you want to update, click Cancel Review to return to the Finalise Prescriptions window.

If you selected an ePrescribing option at step 3 above, Communicare sends the prescriptions to the ETP service, such as eRx, then:

Sends a token for each medication to the patient or their carer using separate SMS messages or emails
Prints a separate token for each medication
If the patient has consented, adds the medication to their Active Script List

The ePrescription Summary shows whether the ePrescriptions have been successfully sent and allows you to resend the ePrescription. If the ePrescription cannot be created, you can print the prescriptions as paper prescriptions. Where a paper prescription is created because the ePrescription failed, the medication is still sent to eRx as a paper prescription and an eRx barcode is printed on the paper prescription. The paper prescription is not an ePrescription so the prescriber must sign the script. If you cancel the transmission of the ePrescriptions, all ePrescription tokens are printed with a new SCID.

Details of the ePrescription are displayed on the Detail tab:
Example ePrescribing information on the Detail tab

ePrescription Created On date and time - the date and time at which this ePrescription was first successfully transmitted to eRx
ePrescription Last Sent To SMS phone number | Email email address - the ePrescription format and the most recent phone number or email address to which the ePrescribing token was successfully transmitted via eRx
ePrescription Cancellation Successful date and time | Failed | Failed - PDS unavailable | Created | Initiated - if this ePrescription was stopped or deleted in Communicare, its status, one of:
- Created - the medication was stopped or cancelled in Communicare by the user
- Initiated - a cancellation or cease message has been sent to eRx, but no response has yet been received
- Successful date and time - the cancellation or cessation was successful
- Failed or Failed - PDS unavailable - the cancellation or cessation failed
Tip: To show deleted medications, in the medication list, right-click and select Show Deleted Items.

If you chose to print, the tokens or PBS Scripts and medication request are printed:

If your printer assignment is set to PDF, and you chose to print tokens and the medication request, ePrescribing tokens are printed first, followed by the medication request when this process is complete. PDFs are saved to your Downloads folder.
If your printer assignment is set to PDF, and you chose to print PBS Scripts and the medication request, two Save PDF File As windows are displayed, one after the other. Enter a name for each PDF file. A single PBS Script listing all PBS items is saved first, followed by the medication request.

Any medications that were not finalised, but were included in the new medication request are finalised when the medication request is created.

If you chose to create a medication request, it supersedes any previous medication requests and is listed in the Medication Requests window with a status of Active.

For medications that were finalised only, if custom prescription forms are enabled, and you chose to print the prescriptions, they are printed using your own template, otherwise they are printed on preprinted PBS forms.

If you created a medication request and your health service uses consolidated orders, you can now create a consolidated order.

To resend ePrescriptions or print prescriptions later that have already been finalised, in the clinical record on either the Summary > Medication Summary tab or the Detail tab, right-click a medication and select Reprint or Resend Prescriptions.

If you chose not to print the medication request when you finalised the medications, you can print it later from the Medication Requests window. For more information, see Add and print medication requests.