GPs may have to manually enter some script details for COVID-19 antivirals until 1 August
PBS prescribing software will not be updated with the expanded criteria until the start of next month
Update: This article has been corrected to make clear doctors will not have to handwrite the script for the patient.
GPs who prescribe COVID-19 antivirals under the revamped PBS criteria may need to manually enter the correct streamline authority codes into their scripts until 1 August, says Professor Michael Kidd.
The Federal Government extended the PBS criteria for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) this week to include all patients aged 70 or older with COVID-19 (see below for full criteria) as cases surge.
But GP software and the PBS codes will not be updated to list the new indications until 1 August, the deputy chief medical officer told a GP webinar on Tuesday.
