Medicines and Technology Programs
Responsible for medicines policy, medicines education, administration of controlled substances legislation and health technology assessment
Medicines and drugs
Information and resources for healthcare professionals to:
- enrich knowledge relating to medicines and their safe and appropriate use
- guide and support best clinical practice in accordance with relevant legislation, policies, guidelines and standards
- enhance medication safety and the quality use of medicines
- assist with patient care and promote optimal health outcomes.
SA Health’s Medicines and Technology Programs branch is responsible for medicines policy, programs, strategic advice and governance within the South Australian public sector in association with number of statewide strategic medicines committees.
Prescribing methods
Electronic prescribing
Electronic prescriptions enable the prescribing and dispensing of medicines without the need for a paper prescription.
- Health professionals electronic prescribing fact sheet (PDF 296KB)
- Consumer electronic prescribing fact sheet (PDF 239KB)
- Software vendors electronic prescribing fact sheet (PDF 334KB)
Serious shortage medicine substitution
Pharmacists may substitute a prescribed medicine that is in serious shortage for another medicine, in accordance with certain conditions and under a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Serious Shortage Medicine Substitution Notice.
Storage of pentobarbital injection
New regulations in effect from 4 June 2021 will require that the Schedule 4 drug, pentobarbital injection be stored in a locked container to prevent unauthorised access.
In this section
- Access to nicotine products
- Antibiotic allergies
- Antibiotic Awareness Week
- Alprazolam for prescribers and pharmacists
- Antimicrobial guidelines
- Clozapine
- Continuity in medication management
- Drugs of dependence
- Hazardous drugs
- Hepatitis C community prescribing
- High cost medicine formulary
- High risk medicines
- Injection techniques
- Interactions with pharmaceutical, medical device and other therapeutic goods companies
- Labelling medicines
- Legal control over medicines
- Life saving and emergency medicines register
- Medication charts
- Medication safety
- Medication terminology
- Medicines and prescribing: Policies and guidelines
- Opioids
- Patients’ own medications
- Pharmacological management of symptoms for adults in the last days of life
- Prescribing medicines and drugs: regulations and requirements
- Programs for the prescribing and supply of medicines
- Quality use of medicines
- South Australian Medicines Formulary
- Standard interim medication administration chart (IMAC)