Real-time Prescription Monitoring
Promoting safer care with real-time information on high-risk medicines.
About Real-time Prescription Monitoring
Real-time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) is digital health infrastructure available across Australia. It provides authorised health practitioners with access to real-time information about an individual’s prescribing and dispensing history of monitored medicines*. RTPM supports clinical decision-making at the point of care and contributes to key strategies and the broader government agenda to improving safer connected healthcare.
*In Australia, monitored medicines refers to medicines that are considered to have a high risk for potential harm or unsafe use. These medicines pose a significant public health concern and are subject to additional oversight, regulated under state and territory legislative frameworks. Monitored medicines may include pain medications (opioid analgesics), sleeping tablets (benzodiazepines and other sedatives) and stimulants and other high-risk medicines. Different states and territories use different names to describe monitored medicines, and each state and territory defines its own list of monitored medicines.
RTPM has been implemented to support the National Health Priority in relation to Medicines Safety and Quality Use of Medicines, including:
- National Medicines Policy
- National Drug Strategy 2017–2026
- National Digital Health Strategy 2023–2028.
RTPM is a Strategic Priority Project under the Intergovernmental Agreement on National Digital Health 2023-2027.
RTPM across Australia
Each state and territory maintains its own RTPM system. It is essential that prescribers and pharmacists understand and comply with the specific legislative requirements relevant to their location of practice, particularly in relation to:
- monitored medicines captured by the system
- criteria for generating system alerts and notifications
- mandatory use of the system and under what circumstances
- eligibility to access the system.
Refer to state and territory RTPM contacts for detailed information on these requirements, as well as to access training resources and contact details.
Why is RTPM important?
Monitored medicines have the potential to cause significant harm to individuals and the community if used unsafely or inappropriately. The harms associated with these medicines has become a growing public health concern across Australia, due to rising rates of accidental overdose and death.
- In 2023, opioids remained the leading drug type associated with unintentional drug-induced deaths in Australia, accounting for 43.9% of such fatalities.1
- Stimulants were the second most common drug type linked to unintentional drug-induced deaths in 2023, contributing to 33.1% of unintentional deaths, followed by benzodiazepines at 28.1%.
Their continued prevalence underscores the risks associated with medications that have sedative or hypnotic effects, particularly when used in combination with other medicines or substances with similar effects.
RTPM can help reduce the risk of harm while ensuring appropriate access for patients who genuinely need these medicines. RTPM can improve safety by:
- supporting safer prescribing and dispensing practices in line with legislation
- providing an opportunity to identify and reduce risk of harm while ensuring appropriate access for patients who need these medicines
- allowing health professionals to make informed decisions based on real-time data
- promoting engagement with patients in their clinical care to support safer use of these medicines
- promoting safer, coordinated care across health providers.
How RTPM works
RTPM provides prescribers and pharmacists with timely access to critical information about monitored medicines at the point of care. When a monitored medicine is prescribed or dispensed, prescription information is automatically uploaded in real-time to the National Data Exchange (NDE), via National Prescription Delivery Service (NPDS). This includes details about:
- the patient, prescriber, and dispenser
- the medicine prescribed (including strength and dose) and supplied
- the date and location of the transaction.
This real-time data helps healthcare practitioners identify potential risks, avoid duplication or unsafe prescribing, and support compliance with relevant legislation.
Importantly, RTPM does not make prescribing or dispensing decisions, nor does it prevent clinicians from prescribing or supplying a medicine they believe is clinically necessary. It is a decision-support tool designed to enhance safe and informed clinical practice.
Who has access to RTPM?
Authorised prescribers (for example medical practitioners and nurse practitioners) and/or pharmacists who are directly involved in patient care, may view information about prescription and dispense history for monitored medicines in RTPM.
It is expected that over time additional health practitioners will become eligible to access RTPM as findings from the Scope of Practice Review2 become legislated across the states and territories.
Who’s involved in managing and supporting RTPM?
RTPM is a national initiative, delivered in partnership across multiple levels of government to support safer prescribing and dispensing of monitored medicines.
RTPM is a collaborative effort involving:
- State and territory health departments: regulate how monitored medicines are prescribed and dispensed in their local health systems.
- The Australian Digital Health Agency: manages the secure national technology platform that connects prescribers, pharmacists, and regulators in real time.
- The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: leads national policy coordination and helps ensure the system works consistently across state and territory borders.
- The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare: promotes safe medicine use through standards and best practices.
- Fred IT Group: contracted by the Agency to operate the national technology platform, including maintenance and support of the state and territory systems.
State and territory RTPM contacts
Each state and territory has a designated point of contact for questions relating to local RTPM implementation as well as clinical support and training resources:
| State and territory | RTPM system |
|---|---|
| ACT | Canberra Script |
| NSW | SafeScript NSW |
| NT | NTScript |
| SA | ScriptCheckSA |
| TAS | TasScript |
| QLD | QScript |
| VIC | SafeScript |
| WA | ScriptCheckWA |
Collection notice
Core Components of RTPM
- National Data Exchange (NDE): core national infrastructure which captures information from state and territory regulatory systems, prescribing and dispensing clinical software, and a range of external data sources.
- State and Territory Regulatory systems: captures information from individual state and territory systems, including authorities and permits for monitored medicines and other regulatory compliance data.
The Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) is responsible for the National Data Exchange (NDE) component of the RTPM system. The NDE collects, uses and discloses personal information to allow State and Territory Regulatory systems to share information relating to prescribing and dispensing of monitored medicines for the purpose of monitoring and improving the safe use of monitored medicines in accordance with relevant state, territory, and Commonwealth legislation. Personal information which may be collected within these processes can include:
For patients:
- full name
- date of birth
- residential address
- details of the prescribed / dispensed monitored medicine
For healthcare professionals:
- full name
- contact details
- profession and specialty (where applicable)
- principal place of practice
- profession and specialty, if relevant
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registration number
Personal information of a patient in the NDE may be disclosed:
- to prescribers and dispensers in the state or territory where the patient resides
- to prescribers and dispensers in another state or territory in certain circumstances (such as where the patient requires a monitored medicine while out of their state or territory of residence)
- to the relevant state or territory regulator
- when it is required or authorised by law.
More information about how your personal information is handled, including how to lodge a privacy complaint, can be found in the Agency’s privacy policy at www.digitalhealth.gov.au/privacy or by emailing RTPM@digtialhealth.gov.au.
For more information on how personal information is handled and protected by a particular State or Territory Regulatory system please refer to individual state or territory website/s below.
State/territory Collection Notices
ACT: Privacy collection notice for health practitioners
NSW: Privacy notice for SafeScript NSW users
NT: NTScript information for health professionals
QLD: Privacy collection notice for health practitioners & Privacy collection notice for patients
SA: ScriptCheckSA terms and conditions of use
TAS: TasScript privacy collection notice for health practitioners
1 Penington Institute (2025). Overdose Snapshot 2025. Melbourne: Penington Institute.