Transforming Healthcare: Comunet’s Electronic Prescription Solutions

In today’s fast-paced world, the adoption of electronic prescription solutions has rapidly grown within the Australian healthcare industry. The continued advancement in technology has required the healthcare industry to innovate, focusing on solutions to enhance efficiency and security in healthcare delivery.

The availability of electronic prescriptions began in May 2020, and gained widespread acceptance in community pharmacies and general practice by late 2020.

Comunet’s software development team proudly stands out among the few independent custom software companies that have taken a significant step in transforming business practices within the Australian healthcare industry, offering clients a local partner for development and conformance of this functionality.

Electronic prescriptions offer a modern alternative to traditional paper prescriptions, providing patients with convenient access to their medication while enhancing safety by reducing transcription errors.

This secure and efficient method ensures a streamlined supply of medicines to patients, whether in person with their doctor, or through telehealth consultations, with prescriptions sent directly to recipients’ mobile phones or email.  

The advantages of electronic prescriptions extend across patients, health providers and the healthcare system, and include: 

- The provision of an alternative and convenient prescription option for patients

- Supplementation to telehealth services to ensure continuity of patient care

- Opportunities to protect community members and healthcare providers from exposure to infectious diseases

- Minimising the risk of lost paper prescriptions

Despite the growing need for electronic prescriptions, the available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Practice Management Software solutions that include electronic prescription capabilities come with a significant drawback: licensing fees. These fees often reflect a pricing model suited for a full-time, clinic-based doctor scenario, which does not always align with the workflows of practices managing ad-hoc patient lists. This mismatch can result in unnecessary administrative overheads and financial inefficiencies for such practices.

Additionally, an electronic prescription application requires many integrations and certifications including with Services Australia, the Australian Digital Health Agency, and Fred Group / eRx. 

Recognising these challenges, Comunet’s Business Analysts and Senior Software Developers diligently identify all the relevant and appropriate regulations, controls, and guidance in designing the solutions. 

Comunet’s Software Development team commence each custom development process with a concise analysis of both user requirements, focusing on the needs of practitioners and conformance with regulations.

The team executes the development phase as a fixed-price engagement, with conformance components treated as time and materials. This approach ensures a cost-effective solution that meets user requirements.

For a recent client project, the aim was to create Electronic Prescription functionality within their existing application to avoid the necessity of adopting Practice Management Software that did not align with their specific requirements or processes, all while ensuring seamless prescription processes for their doctors and patients. 

The successful development of this application now enables patients using after-hours doctor services to obtain prescriptions promptly, resulting in meaningful improvements in health outcomes, and eases the burden on hospitals by providing an alternative for patients accessing non-critical medical advice. 

As the healthcare industry advances, tailored technology solutions become increasingly crucial.

Comunet’s Software Development team has a proven track record in designing and developing electronic prescription applications that align and integrate with third-party systems, meet regulatory requirements, and provide efficient and effective non-critical medical solutions for both practitioners and patients.

To explore how your healthcare practice or similarly regulated industry can benefit from a customised solution, designed, and developed by our highly experienced team, please contact us.