VetRx Script Exchange

Veterinarians are writing an increasing number of prescriptions, however unlike medical practitioners, they are disadvantaged by not having access to the same tools that can simplify this process.

Prescription innovation has progressed from prescription pads (templates for handwritten prescriptions) to computer generated prescriptions (printouts on the prescription pad) and finally to ePrescribing, where a paper prescription is no longer required for a patient to have their medicine dispensed.

Veterinarians have never had official prescribing stationary provided by the Government. This brings about risk associated with prescription fraud, and also places the regulatory compliance entirely on the veterinarian to ensure that the prescription contains the required information. Furthermore, unlike in a human pharmacy where all prescriptions follow the same standard layout, no two prescriptions appear the same in an animal pharmacy as every veterinary hospital uses a different prescription template. This non-standardised layout increases risk associated with transcription error by the pharmacist.

In response to the Covid pandemic in 2020, electronic prescribing was legalised in all States and Territories of Australia. Veterinarians were excluded from the provisions for electronic prescribing as no such system existed to facilitate prescription exchange between veterinarians and pharmacists. VetRx was conceived in response to this. VetRx would build upon the electronic prescription exchange framework developed by the Australian Digital Health Agency, and implement the many benefits of ePrescribing for the animal health industry.

VetRx will revolutionise the way you prescribe. VetRx One is designed to be used alongside your existing practice management software so that prescription information can be shared between the client, the pharmacist and the animal owner.

Benefits of Digital Prescriptions

No more paper prescriptions	VetRx is actively working with the States to allow electronic prescriptions to be the legal version of the prescription (instead of the paper copy that is signed and mailed to the pharmacy). Until then, VetRx will still facilitate electronic prescription exchange, but that pesky piece of paper still needs to be received by the dispensing pharmacy. Fewer prescription errors improve operational efficiency. Prescriptions are managed in one place with zero risk of getting lost.
No more prescription fraud	VetRx generates immutable prescriptions. This means that there is no way of a customer duplicating the prescription and having it dispensed by multiple pharmacies. It also means that no-one can edit the quantity for dispensing. What you prescribe, is what is dispensed. Period.
Prevents Doctor Shopping	VetRx acts as a real time prescription monitoring system to prevent “doctor-shopping”. Whenever a veterinarian prescribes for an animal, VetRx will display the prescribing history for that animal and the client’s other pets.
Regulatory compliant prescriptions	Do you know what information is required on a prescription? Would you be surprised if we told you that over 95% of prescriptions received at an animal pharmacy did not strictly meet regulatory requirements? VetRx ensures that all prescriptions generated by the system will meet your State’s regulatory requirements.
Better customer engagement through prescriptions & active script lists	Embrace the fact that your practice offers prescriptions and use it to improve the quality of care that your patients receive. Script expiry notifications are automatically generated, encouraging your clients to book in for another consultation. Customers have the ability to record notes in their pet’s database, so they can raise medication-related concerns with you when it is time for a check-up. Prescription history and tracking so that the repeats remaining are easily apparent.
Withholding Period Compliance	Improving livestock owners compliance with meat and milk withholding periods. By integrating the VetRx database with the NLIS database, at-risk animals can not only be identified before leaving the farm gate, but again by the purchaser at the point-of-sale. Having such a robust system for capturing the use of prescription veterinary medicines in food producing species will maintain Australia’s status as the leader in food safety on the world stage.
AMR reduction	Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to public health. Without a method of capturing antibiotic prescribing data in animal species, it is difficult to know what contribution these practices are having on the development of AMR. Italy and Ireland have successfully deployed a national veterinary prescription monitoring system similar to VetRx, with the primary aim of reducing inappropriate antibiotic use and decreasing antibiotic resistance. With widespread use of VetRx in the livestock industries, Australia too will be able to track antiboitic use and make evidence based decisions around what is working and what is not working in combatting AMR.
Easier Insurance Claims	Easier reporting for pet insurance claims.

All of this adds up to happier customers with fewer script issues!

Feature Comparison

	VetRx Script Exchange	VetScripts.io
You can choose the pharmacy that fills your pet’s prescriptions.	Yes	No
You are in control of the vets and pharmacies that can view your pet’s prescriptions.	Yes	No
A patient database that distinguishes between the client (human) and the patient (animal).	Yes	No
Pharmacy eCommerce Integration	Yes	No

FAQ