Submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

People with life-limiting conditions often have complex medication regimes, multiple prescribers and frequent transitions between different care settings. Incomplete medicines information contributes to fragmented care, and risk of medication errors and adverse events. It also places a burden on patients, carers and family members to communicate their medication information to health care providers.

PCA recommends:

• Online-only prescribers be required to share medicines information to My Health Record, by default.
• My Health Record be improved via interoperability with other digital health record systems, and routine incorporation of advance care plans and directives.
• While it is appropriate to focus on higher-risk and unapproved medicines, this should not create unintended barriers to appropriate prescribing of opioid analgesics in palliative care contexts.
• Regulatory reform is required to support equitable, evidence-based access to medicinal cannabis including through approved clinical trials in interdisciplinary palliative care settings.

The needs and preferences of people with life-limiting illness should be prioritised in future consultation about the development of the National Medicines Record.

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