Source: ASHM News, 4 February 2020
Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) welcomes the recent recommendation from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to endorse authorised Nurse Practitioners (NP) to prescribe hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV medicines under the Highly Specialised Drugs (HSD) program. The PBAC recommendation states:
Prescriber eligibility requirements currently in place for the relevant medicines under the National Health (Highly specialised drugs program) Special Arrangement 2010 will be extended to NPs, including the accreditation and/or state or territory approval requirements.
What does this change mean?
NPs experienced in the care and management of people living with HIV and hepatitis B in the community and hepatitis C in corrective services settings will be eligible to prescribe s100 medicines within their scope of practice and in accordance with their individual employment agreements.