Tropical Cyclone Nathan - Advice for Pharmacists
Page last updated: 20 March 2015
Please note: The information on this page is no longer current and is only included here for historical reference.
Current information is maintained on the 'PBS Arrangements to Support Australians Affected by Natural Disasters and Emergencies' Fact Sheet.
Advice for approved pharmacists supplying PBS medicines to patients in areas in Queensland affected by Tropical Cyclone Nathan – March 2015.
The following arrangements apply from 20 March 2015 in areas in Queensland that have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Nathan and operate until 20 April 2015.
PDF version of Tropical Cyclone Nathan - Advice for Pharmacists - March 2015 (95 KB)
Patient Entitlement
If patients do not have their Medicare, DVA or Centrelink card, pharmacists should ring the PBS Inquiry line 132 290, for assistance with a patient’s Medicare or concessional details.
Dispensing medicines under the 3 day emergency supply rule without a prescription
A patient can receive a 3 day supply of medication without a prescription, in accordance with existing emergency supply provisions in Queensland.
A pharmacist may dispense using the ‘owing prescription’ provision
The pharmacist can confirm the patient’s current medication details with the prescriber, or a prescriber may direct a pharmacist to supply a medicine to a patient in an emergency situation. Patients may be issued the amount authorised by the prescriber. The prescriber is required to forward a paper prescription to the pharmacy to cover the emergency supply as soon as practicable, in accordance with state law.
Medicines subject to the 4/20 day PBS rule
In cases where patients have lost medication due to the effects of Tropical Cyclone Nathan, the pharmacist may provide a subsequent supply, but must endorse the prescription with the words 'immediate supply necessary' and sign the PBS prescription.
PBS Authority line 1800 888 333 (PBS) 1800 552 580 (RPBS)
If prescribers contact the Authority line and the prescription falls under the ‘too soon’ rule [because of the loss of an approved authority prescription or valid repeats], the Department of Human Services (DHS) will exempt these patients from the ‘too soon’ rule and approve the Authority. If the Authority line is unavailable, a message will indicate the process to be followed by prescribers - to endorse the prescription with the words 'emergency authorised by DHS, with a date, time and signature.
Emergency relocation of a pharmacy
Pharmacists seeking to temporarily relocate their approved pharmacy due to damage from Tropical Cyclone Nathan should send an email to the Department of Human Services [nsw.pbs.approval.clerk@humanservices.gov.au], quoting the name of the affected pharmacy, its current PBS approval number, addresses of the current and temporary premises, and expected timeframe for return to the approved premises. The Australian Community Pharmacy Authority will fast track these requests for temporary relocation within 24 hours, in most instances. The Department of Health will advise wholesaler distributors of the temporary approval of the new premises, to facilitate delivery of PBS medicines to the new address. NB: The PBS pharmacy approval number will not change for these temporary relocations.
Medicine distribution arrangements
The Department of Health is monitoring PBS supply arrangements in areas affected by Tropical Cyclone Nathan to ensure that patient access to essential medicines can continue during this emergency.
Telecommunications impact on PBS Online
Tropical Cyclone Nathan may affect telecommunications capacity in some areas. Approved pharmacists in these areas may not have real-time connection to DHS for prescription verification and entitlement checking. Any service interruption will not affect your PBS claim as your dispensing software will store all claimed items until the telecommunications and connection with DHS through PBS Online are restored.
Claiming - Missing prescriptions/no paperwork
If your pharmacy has lost or damaged paperwork due to Tropical Cyclone Nathan you can submit a Statutory Declaration to DHS. This should include a statement about loss of paperwork as a result of the natural disaster, and an undertaking that if the paperwork is found it will be forwarded to DHS and that an insurance claim has not been made.
For example, the wording for the Statutory Declaration would include the following:
- I cannot provide the paper prescriptions to support this claim because of the effects of Tropical Cyclone Nathan in Queensland.
- I have not, and will not make a claim against my insurance company for the lost claim, and if the prescriptions are located I will forward them to DHS with a note of explanation stating that I will not resubmit these prescriptions for payment.
A completed Statutory Declaration may be sent to:
Teams Manager, Pharmaceutical Benefits
Department of Human Services
GPO Box 9826
in your state [please call 132 290 for details]
PLEASE NOTE: In addition to the above, if the claim is a Claims Transmission System (CTS) claim the pharmacy must provide a copy of the CTS disk with the claim header to be eligible for payment.
Pharmacists enquiring about payment for claims with missing prescriptions due to the natural disaster/emergency can phone 132 290 and ask to speak with a Teams Manager.
Statutory Declarations are available from: www.ag.gov.au/statdec or for purchase from any post office or newsagent.
Department of Health, Canberra
last updated: 20 March 2015
