Cautious embrace of patient script histories

From next month, GPs around the country will be able to check detailed information on the doses and types of drugs a patient has previously been prescribed, and even receive alerts if there is evidence of drug dependency.

The rollout follows a successful trial of the real-time software, DORA, in five practices in Tasmania, and it is already available to public hospital-based prescribers.

The Commonwealth will contribute $5 million to the scheme’s rollout, although state governments may spend more on integrating it with existing software programs, the