60-day prescribing uptake only 30%, analysis finds
GP software defaulting to 30-day scripts could be a big reason for the low uptake, according to the Grattan Institute.
GPs used 60-day prescribing for fewer than 30% of eligible scripts in the policy’s first year, analysis of PBS data has found.
The Federal Government let GPs write double-length scripts for 92 common medications in September 2023, predicting that GPs would use 60-day prescribing for 45% of eligible scripts in the 2023/24 financial year and 63% by 2026/27.
The policy triggered feverish anger in Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Professor Trent Twomey, who said it would cause “big shortages” and accused the government of “not giving a shit”.
But a Grattan Institute report published last week said uptake of 60-day prescribing was only 21% for all eligible drugs in November 2024.
