The planned 1 October rollout of PBS prescribing by endorsed RNs is expected to be temporarily shelved amid concerns that clinical software and health services could not be ready in time given the Federal Government’s deadline.

It follows warnings from software vendors that they have not been given sufficient information by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to safely update and test prescribing, dispensing and PBS-claiming systems.

At a meeting of the Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA) last week, vendors raised concerns about missing technical specifications, unclear validation and prescribing rules and limited test data.

The MSIA also flagged the absence of a complete process covering nurse endorsement, prescribing, dispensing, PBS claiming and real-time prescription monitoring.