MedsASSIST closes today

THE Pharmacy Guild of Australia has announced the shutdown of its MedsASSIST real-time recording system, with the system to be discontinued effective tonight.

The “clinical decision support system” was rapidly developed and rolled out just over a year ago (PD 18 Mar 2016) as a response to the proposed TGA rescheduling of codeine products.

At the time, Guild president George Tambassis said, “We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” with the system available to all pharmacies, whether Guild members or not, to help pharmacists identify patients at risk of codeine dependence.

However in Dec the TGA confirmed it would proceed with the up-scheduling of codeine combination medications from 01 Feb 2018, and the Guild now says this “regrettably will render MedsASSIST obsolete”.

The system aimed to address patient misuse so medicines containing codeine would not need to be made prescription only.

It has recorded over six million transactions, with about 120,000 instances of non-supply - but “could never be fully effective while it remained voluntary,” the Guild said.

“It was always crucial to have every pharmacy across Australia required by law to use a real time system for the recording of codeine supply...unfortunately this could not be achieved despite advocacy by the Guild at all levels of government.”

After tonight’s MedsASSIST shutdown the supply of S3 analgesics containing codeine through community pharamcies will continue, with protocols under the existing scheduling system.

Tambassis said the Guild remained concerned that the “blunt instrument of up-scheduling” will disadvantage responsible users of codeine medicines, and will not be effective in addressing issues of addiction.