The Online PBS Authorities (OPA) system allows approved prescribers to request and receive either an Immediate assessment (in real time) or a Delayed assessment.
For a Delayed assessment, we review the authority you submitted online and send a notification to your Health Professional Online Service (HPOS) mailbox. This includes increased quantity, repeats and Written Authority Required items where allowed.
The OPA system can be accessed through either:
- upgraded clinical or prescribing software
- the PBS Authorities tile in HPOS.
Contact your software provider about software upgrades to access the service using your clinical or prescribing software.
You need a Provider Digital Access (PRODA) account to access HPOS. If you don’t have one, register for a PRODA account. Then follow the steps to set up your HPOS access.
If you’re a delegate you can use OPA to request, view, save and amend authority records on behalf of a prescriber. You won’t be able to submit authority requests but you can partially complete and save them. Then the prescribers can review, complete and submit them.
To find out how to set up delegations in HPOS, read more about managing delegations.
Use the OPA system in HPOS to:
- request a new PBS authority to prescribe an authority item
- save a partially completed authority request and resume the authority later
- cancel or change a request you submitted for PBS authority approval, not already dispensed, within one year of being prescribed
- block an authority you submitted to prevent supply of outstanding repeats
- enquire about any of your approved, cancelled or rejected PBS authority requests within 2 years of being prescribed.
You can request PBS authority approvals through OPA at your own convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our PBS Authority status tool gives you real time information. This includes the operational status of the OPA service, systems, and phone lines. You can use it to check if there are system problems when transmitting online to us.
Read more about patient care, PBS medicines and using the OPA.