The Australian Nursing Federation said the abuse of opiates based prescription drugs is a rising problem in Australia and we need urgent electronic streamlining of health records to stop the abuse.

ANF federal secretary Lee Thomas said, "What we have each year is thousands of people who shop for their prescription medication by visiting a number of health professionals. As nurse practitioners already supply prescriptions and these may include opiates and other drugs sourced by addicts we want to ensure the best outcome for patients. Not only will we be able to identify those people who are struggling with addiction and therefore assist them to get alternative help we will also be saving Australia millions of dollars in benefit charges."

Ms Thomas said deaths from prescription medications were often accidental.

"Some are very addictive and must be managed carefully. We have seen a number of accidental deaths in recent years from a combination of prescription drugs."

"A health professional must be able to view and therefore coordinate all the medication a patient is taking is order to safely prescribe to that individuals needs."

"We need the prescriber to be able to log on and view the patient's history. They will be able to see what that person has been prescribed and any other healthcare factors. The end result will be better health outcomes for patients and a drop in the rate of addiction."

It was well known that e-health could potentially save lives by assisting nurses and health professionals to provide the best possible care with instant electronic access to a patient's healthcare history.

Ehealth must not only be a priority in the next term of government it must also include transparency at a general practice and community health level so that we can combat prescription medication abuse.

Ms Thomas said e-Health would also make life easier for those in an acute setting and/or on a complex regime of medication.

"Most people, including older people, struggle to remember the names of all their medicines and often forget important information that may affect decisions around what treatment they should be given. It would be a great help to have a comprehensive health profile of that person including their current health condition and medications."

Source:
Australian Nursing Federation