Page 2196 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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Unfortunately, to date, our prescribing and dispensing systems have not been sophisticated enough to prevent this type of misuse. We have heard from some of the families in our community whose lives have been affected as a result. This is why this bill is so important. The Greens are pleased to support it today.
The bill before us provides a way forward to help improve the situation. The bill will establish a regulatory framework to allow authorised people to remotely access, use and disclose information on the ACT’s monitored medicines database as a public health and clinical support tool. The establishment of a legislated prescription monitoring database is an important starting point, but it is not the whole solution. It is a practical step that the ACT can and should take, but we must acknowledge that to properly respond to this problem we require a national solution.
This is an issue that has been looked at through COAG processes for many years and the recommendations for a national scheme are clear. The national pharmaceutical drug misuse framework for action outlines the need for a multipronged approach to this issue.
Alongside the need for community and medical professional education, the framework calls for the implementation of a nationally based and jurisdictionally consistent electronic recording and reporting of controlled drugs system. This system would enable prescribers, dispensers and regulators to have real-time, online access to information concerning patients’ access to prescription opioids and other schedule 8 medicines.
A national scheme is so important because this issue crosses borders, and requires a consistent and comprehensive approach. I understand that work on a national scheme is continuing, but these processes can be frustratingly slow and complex. That is why it is pleasing the ACT is not standing still in the meantime. While a local database may not provide a complete solution, it is an important start. The model proposed in this bill will enable the ACT to enter into arrangements with other jurisdictions to facilitate the sharing of database information and it will support cross-jurisdictional public health initiatives.
Establishing an ACT database is also in line with recommendations we have seen here in the territory. I acknowledge that Coroner Hunter recommended the implementation of a system for real-time monitoring of prescription medications, known as DORA, so that prescribers can prevent patients from inappropriately accessing harmful and substantial quantities of medicines.
This was a recommendation from the inquest into the death of Paul Fennessy. The Greens acknowledge the work that Paul’s mother, Ann Finlay, has done as a tireless advocate for reform in this area. Cases like Paul Fennessy’s are a tragic reminder of how much work we still have to do.
The Greens are acutely aware of the interaction between mental health issues and drug and alcohol misuse, including the non-medical use of prescription drugs. We know that people who use pharmaceuticals for non-medical purposes are more likely to
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