Canberra Script is the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) version of the National Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) system. The National RTPM system is being implemented across all jurisdictions in Australia to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of monitored medicines. Canberra Script is a monitored medicines database which records real-time information about the prescription and supply of monitored medicines.

The purpose of Canberra Script is to reduce harm and preventable deaths in the ACT community by supporting the safe and effective use of monitored medicines.

Privacy Collection Notice for Health Practitioners

Registering to access Canberra Script

Relevant health practitioners will be able to access Canberra Script if they are registered in the system. As part of the registration process for Canberra Script, ACT Health will collect the following personal information:

  • name;

  • date of birth;

  • Ahpra registration number;

  • address of principal place of practice (as recorded by Ahpra);

  • profession and specialty, if relevant, (as recorded by Ahpra);

  • prescriber number (if relevant);

  • email address (as recorded by Ahpra); and

  • phone number.

ACT Health will use this information to verify your identity against the records held by Ahpra and record your registration in the system. Following verification of your identity, your date of birth will not be stored in Canberra Script. The contact details you provide on registration will not be made publicly available by Canberra Script and will only be used to communicate necessary correspondence. This includes password reset requests and important updates regarding Canberra Script.

You will be asked to nominate a username and unique password. You must keep this information secret and only access Canberra Script for a permitted purpose.

Failure to provide the information necessary for registration will mean that you will be unable to access Canberra Script.

Who can access information in Canberra Script?

Section 97F of the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 (MPTG Act) permits relevant health practitioners to access and use Canberra Script for one or more of the following purposes:

  1. to inform decisions in relation to the prescription or supply of a monitored medicine to a person under the relevant health practitioner’s care;

  2. to inform decisions in relation to the treatment or care of a person under the relevant health practitioner’s care;

  3. to disclose information about a person under the relevant health practitioner’s care to that person;

  4. to disclose information about a person under the relevant health practitioner’s care to another health practitioner involved in the person’s treatment or care; and

  5. a purpose prescribed by regulation.

Health practitioners are precluded by law from viewing consumer records if they are not involved in that consumer's medical care.

Where access to Canberra Script is granted to users who are not health practitioners, these users must only access and use Canberra Script in accordance with their access authority and applicable privacy legislation. Under the MPTG Act, written authorisation must include certain information, including the purpose for which the authority is issued and conditions that apply to the authority.

How is the information in Canberra Script used by ACT Health Directorate?

ACT Health may access and use Canberra Script for a range of reasons. Those reasons include, but are not limited to:

  • monitoring, promoting and protecting public health and safety;

  • administering, developing and operating the database;

  • facilitating research into the provision of healthcare;

  • for the purpose of legal proceedings;

  • ensuring compliance with the MPTG Act and relevant privacy legislation;

  • entering into an arrangement with the Commonwealth, a state or the Northern Territory to allow access, use and disclosure of information on the monitored medicines database; and

  • allowing a relevant health practitioner (as that term is defined in the MPTG Act) or any other person to access, use, and disclose information on the monitored medicines database.

Privacy legal responsibilities

Any user accessing personal health information in Canberra Script must comply with both the MPTG Act and the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997. Users may also be required to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), or with other State/Territory privacy legislation if they are located outside the ACT.

Health practitioner information connected to consumer records

Canberra Script collects information about health practitioner’s prescribing or dispensing of monitored medicines. Information that may be required on a prescription and dispensing record, will automatically be collected by Canberra Script from the Prescription Exchange Services. A Prescription Exchange Service provides safe and secure electronic transfer of prescription information between medical practitioners and pharmacists via a centralised repository. This information includes:

  • consumer details;

  • monitored medicines that are being prescribed or supplied (including details of prescription and supply);

  • details of the prescriber; and

  • details of the dispenser.

ACT Health stores the above health practitioner data securely through a range of security controls to protect the website.

Canberra Script also collects information about patients and their health practitioners where that information is required to be provided as part of an application for Chief Health Officer approval.

Canberra Script may collect information when ACT Health Directorate is contacted by telephone, email or letter about matters concerning monitored medicines.

Information connected to health practitioner usage of Canberra Script

When an individual accesses the secure areas of the Canberra Script website, records of the individual activity are logged and used by ACT Health for auditing purposes. This information is also accessible to other users to assist with the co-ordination of consumer care. The following is recorded:

  • username of the individual;

  • time and date of access; and

  • records that have been accessed.

Who will ACT Health disclose information about health practitioners to?

Authorised ACT Health and Commonwealth Government regulatory bodies will also be able to access information in Canberra Script as part of their existing regulatory role in ensuring the safe supply of medicines within the community.

Personal information within Canberra Script may also be accessed by ICT service providers for the purpose of ICT support, as well as to validate new users and remove old users from Canberra Script.

Patient Privacy

How is consumer privacy protected?

Consumer health information is protected by law. The Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 requires that:

  • consumer personal health information is only collected, accessed, used and disclosed for authorised purposes;

  • consumer personal health information is stored securely; and

  • consumers are provided with clear information about what personal health information is held about them and how they might go about getting access to it or requesting that it be corrected where necessary.

Any Canberra Script user (such as a prescriber or a pharmacist) accessing personal health information must comply with both the MPTG Act and the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997. Prescribers or pharmacists may also be required comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), or with other State/Territory privacy legislation if they are located outside the ACT.

Canberra Script records information about who accesses the system, when they access the system and which records they view. This information will be monitored by the Directorate to ensure that Canberra Script is being used appropriately. If inappropriate use by a health practitioner is detected, penalties may apply under ACT law and the matter may also be referred to Ahpra for investigation and possible disciplinary action.

Can I correct a record in Canberra Script?

Records detailing monitored medicines prescribing and dispensing are collected from Prescription Exchange Services. Canberra Script does not alter this information received from a prescriber’s or pharmacist’s clinical system.

In many cases an error or omission is likely to be due to an error by the prescriber or pharmacist. A request can be made directly to the prescriber or pharmacist to review their records. When they make a change in their clinical system, the information will be automatically updated in Canberra Script.

Other information such as Chief Health Officer approvals may also be displayed in Canberra Script.

If you believe there is an error in a record other than a prescription record, please contact us at [email protected].

How can I find out more information?

For further information about how ACT Health manages personal information, visit https://www.health.act.gov.au/privacy

For further information about Canberra Script visit: https://www.health.act.gov.au/canberrascript