Pharmacists will be able to dispense a month’s supply of S4 medicines to patients without a script under emergency powers as part of the response to the bushfire crisis.

The new rules, introduced in NSW, Victoria and ACT, will be in place until March and are designed to ensure those affected by the bushfires can still access their medications.

Pharmacists will be able to dispense the standard PBS quantity of patients’ usual drugs — one month in most cases.

Patients will only be able to access medications that have been previously prescribed, the patient must have an “essential need” and it must be impractical for them to see a doctor to obtain a script.