Electronic prescribing
Electronic prescribing is a secure, digital alternative to paper prescriptions. For allied health professionals who prescribe within their scope of practice, it offers a practical way to streamline workflows, support continuity of care, and meet patient expectations in increasingly digital care environments.
Why electronic prescribing matters for allied health
Allied health prescribers often work across diverse settings including private practice, community health, disability services, aged care, outreach, and telehealth. Electronic prescribing supports this flexibility while reducing administrative burden.
Free support is available from the Australian Digital Health Agency Digital Adoption Support Team
Ph: 02 6223 0741
Available 8.30am–5pm AEST, Mon–Fri
Key benefits
For allied health prescribers and practices
Provides a convenient alternative to paper prescriptions
Reduces the risk of prescribing and transcription errors
Minimises printing, handling, and storage requirements
Reduces administrative effort, particularly in small or sole-trader practices
Supports telehealth consultations and remote service delivery.
For patients
Improves convenience and access, especially for follow-up or repeat prescriptions
Reduces the risk of lost or damaged paper prescriptions
Maintains patient choice about which pharmacy dispenses their medication
Supports continuity of care across settings.
For privacy and safety
Protects patient information using encrypted prescription tokens
Supports infection prevention by reducing unnecessary face-to-face contact when appropriate.
What allied health prescribers need to know
Electronic prescribing can only be used by practitioners where prescribing is within their professional scope and regulatory arrangements.
To generate an electronic prescription, you must:
Use a conformant Clinical Information System (CIS) that supports electronic prescribing
Ensure your Healthcare Identifiers and practice details are correctly set up.
You can check whether your CIS is conformant via the national register.
The Australian Digital Health Agency provides tailored guidance to help prescribers understand electronic prescribing, including registration steps, system requirements, and available support.
Learn more: short, on-demand webinars
The following webinars provide practical, plain-language overviews of how electronic prescribing works across different settings:
· Electronic Prescriptions for pharmacy – Tokens (19 min)
· Electronic Prescriptions for pharmacy – Active Script List (16 min)
· Electronic Prescriptions made easy for prescribers (17 min)
These are well suited to allied health prescribers who want a quick introduction or are preparing to implement electronic prescribing in practice.