Alerts and pop-up notifications

When using TasScript, it is important to differentiate between notifications and alerts.

Alerts

Alerts exist within the TasScript health practitioner portal and indicate the patient’s prescribing or dispensing history has met certain criteria for higher-risk circumstances. Prescribers and pharmacists will be prompted to consider this information in their decision-making.

Pop-up Notifications 

A prescriber or pharmacist using integrated clinical software will receive a pop-up notification on their desktop when they are prescribing or dispensing a medicine monitored by TasScript. These notifications are designed to quickly and clearly signal if checking the patient’s record in TasScript is required.

Amber and red pop-up notifications will be displayed until they are clicked on. Clicking on these notifications will take you directly and securely to the patient record in TasScript. This action will enable a practitioner to meet the legislative requirement of checking TasScript prior to prescribing or supplying a monitored medicine.

Green pop-up notifications do not require any action and will fade away after a few seconds. 

Prescribing or dispensing monitored medicines after receiving an Amber or Red alert

An alert does not mean you are not allowed to prescribe or dispense medicine, but it indicates that some heightened risk has been identified that should be considered and managed appropriately.

Should you decide the risk of using a monitored medicine outweighs the benefit, you are reminded that safe clinical practice involves ensuring appropriate continuity of care for your patient and careful consideration of best treatment options. This will prevent harms that may occur due to abruptly discharging a patient from your care or abruptly stopping treatment in patients who have been taking monitored medicines over a long period of time.

Prescribers and pharmacists are also reminded that anyone can develop a dependency on prescription medicines, and it is your responsibility, as part of your professional registration, to ensure all patients receive the same standard of care. 

GREEN pop-up notifications will appear when:

• There has not been a prescription for a monitored medicine issued or dispensed to the patient in the last 90 days, or
• When prescriptions for a monitored medicine in the last 90 days have been issued by the same prescriber or medical practice, and there are no alerts.

AMBER pop-up notifications will appear when:

• Multiple provider episodes: when prescriptions for a monitored medicine have been dispensed from at least four or more different pharmacies in the last 90 days.
• Opioid dose threshold: when the oral morphine equivalent daily dose (calculated based on an average over the last 90 days) is between 50mg and 100mg oral morphine equivalent daily dose (i.e. a medium risk oral morphine equivalent dose).
• Multiple medical practices: where the monitored medicines prescribed or supplied to the patient within the last 90 days involve more than one prescriber at different medical practices.
• Unauthorised prescriber: where a prescriber does not hold a legal authorisation to prescribe a selected Schedule 8 medicine to the patient. This notification only appears for prescribers to support them to meet their legal obligations. 

RED pop-up notification will appear when:

• Multiple provider episodes: when prescriptions from four or more prescribers or medical practices have been recorded in TasScript within the last 90 days.
• Opioid dose threshold: when the oral morphine equivalent daily dose (calculated based on an average over the last 90 days) exceeds 100mg oral morphine equivalent dose daily (i.e. a high-risk oral morphine equivalent dose).
• High-risk drug combinations: when prescriptions for certain drug combinations have been recorded in TasScript within the last 90 days. 
  • Methadone + a benzodiazepine
  • Methadone + a long-acting opioid
  • Fentanyl + a benzodiazepine
  • Fentanyl + a long-acting opioid
• Treatment for opioid use disorder: when the patient is currently or has previously been treated for opioid use disorder on the opioid pharmacotherapy program in Tasmania.

Find out more about TasScript and real-time prescription monitoring

Access TasScript