MedicalDirector supports opioid changes in Australia

Written by Dr Charlotte Middleton. Originally appeared on LinkedIn, reposted here with permission. 

Opioid use in Australia is at all time high. On 1st June, MedicalDirector updated its software to help reduce the nearly 150 opioid-related hospitalisations our country manages, daily. The changes reflected Government-mandated updates to PBS codes, and paved the way for right-size prescriptions through smaller opioid pack sizes. MedicalDirector was at the forefront in supporting this change – MedicalDirector Helix users had the changes rolled out automatically, MedicalDirector Clinical users had access to a software patch, and leading medicines information database, AusDI, was updated in accordance with TGA guidelines. 

As GPs, it is our ethos to provide best-in-class care for the patients who entrust us with their health. The software that we use to book appointments, consult, refer, prescribe, and bill, is integral in facilitating this care. I am proud of the strides MedicalDirector makes in leading health technology for primary care in Australia, as its Chief Medical Officer.  

MedicalDirector supports the recent and planned changes to opioid prescriptions in Australia, and encourages practices that have not received the automatic update, to update their MDref database to the June 2020 version, for these changes to be reflected.