Before you can use the PSIS, call us to register.
Call the PSIS to find out if your patient meets the Prescription Shopping Program (PSP) criteria.
It’s available 24 hours, 7 days a week for PBS medical prescribers. All other PBS prescribers can access the service Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm AEST.
When you call the PSIS we’ll ask for:
- your prescriber number
- your full name
- a security question about your identity
- the patient’s Medicare number, full name and date of birth.
If your patient meets the criteria, we’ll give you a summary of the PBS items supplied to them. This information is accurate up to the last 24 hours.
We can also send you a PSP Patient Summary Report (PSR). The report is a list of PBS medicines supplied to your patient in a 3-month period.
You can use this information to talk to your patient about medication and their prescriptions.
If they do not meet the criteria, we will advise you of this but will not provide any additional information.
If you’re worried about your patient, you can contact the health department in your state or territory. You can ask about statutory reporting requirements or other programs to help you manage your patient.
A PSP PSR can be made available in Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) for 14 days from when you call PSIS.
You need a Provider Digital Access (PRODA) account to access HPOS. If you don’t have one, register for PRODA online.
To view the PSR follow these steps:
- Log in to your PRODA account to access HPOS.
- Select My Programs.
- Select Prescription Shopping Patient Summary Reports.
- Select View next to the report you want to see.
Each month the PSAS assesses patients who meet the PSP criteria.
We assess patients to identify if they may be getting more PBS medicines than they need. We may write to you to let you know.
When the PSAS assesses high-risk patients it refers to the World Health Organisation for the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification system, Index of medicines.
Target medicines used for the PSP:
- acamprosate
- alprazolam
- amitriptyline
- asenapine
- atomoxetine
- bromazepam
- buprenorphine
- buprenorphine + naloxone
- bupropion
- citalopram
- clonazepam
- clozapine
- codeine
- desvenlafaxine
- dexamfetamine
- diazepam
- dothiepin
- doxepin
- duloxetine
- escitalopram
- fentanyl
- flunitrazepam
- fluoxetine
- fluvoxamine
- gabapentin
- hydromorphone
- lisdexamfetamine
- lithium carbonate
- methadone
- methylphenidate
- mianserin
- midazolam
- mirtazapine
- modafinil
- morphine
- naltrexone
- nicotine
- nitrazepam
- olanzapine
- oxazepam
- oxycodone
- oxycodone + naloxone
- paracetamol + codeine
- paroxetine
- phenobarbitone
- pregabalin
- quetiapine
- reboxetine
- sertraline
- tapentadol
- temazepam
- tramadol
- varenicline
- venlafaxine
- zopiclone
Patients meet the PSP criteria if they get any of the following within a 3-month period:
- Any PBS items prescribed by 6 or more different prescribers.
- A total of 25 or more PBS target items.
- A total of 50 or more target or non-target PBS items.
We use PBS data to know when a patient gets PBS medicine from an approved pharmacy. The data can take up to 24 hours to update.
We run the PSP based on privacy and legal guidelines. We can’t tell you the PBS medicines supplied to someone who isn’t your patient.
We also can’t tell you the PBS medicines supplied to your patient if:
- they used over-the-counter medicine
- a prescriber gave them samples of medication or any emergency treatment
- a pharmacist gave them PBS medicine in an emergency
- medicine was prescribed to them under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS)
- medicine was supplied to them as a private prescription or as a PBS Section 100 item.
Read more about PBS Section 100 items on the PBS website.