More medicines available for 60-day prescriptions

Almost 300 Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines are now available for 60-day prescriptions.

Medical practitioners, nurse practitioners and optometrists permitted to prescribe Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines can make the clinical decision about whether 60-day prescriptions are appropriate for patients with stable ongoing health conditions.

This will allow many patients to access twice the amount of their medication on a single prescription. Where a prescriber considers a 60-day prescription appropriate for a patient, it may reduce the time spent in consultations to renew prescriptions and the patient’s annual medication costs.

What do health professional need to know about 60-day prescriptions?

If your patients are living with stable ongoing health conditions and might benefit from a 60-day prescription, you can check the list of medicines available for 60-day prescriptions: health.gov.au/cheaper-medicines/60-day-dispensing-pbs-medicines-and-current-item-codes

Prescribing software is automatically updated and included medicines have an additional PBS item
code for 60-day (or 56-day) prescriptions, as well as the current code for 30-day (or 28-day)
prescriptions.

The maximum number of repeats for 60-day prescriptions is the same as for the 30-day supply. This excludes antidepressants. Prescriptions allowing 5 repeats may provide up to 12 months’ supply of medicine from one prescription.

More information for prescribers

Visit the Cheaper Medicines website for more information.