ACT to introduce prescription monitoring scheme

A real-time prescription drug monitoring scheme was one of two recommendations made after a coronial inquiry into the death of 21-year-old Canberra man Paul Fennessy.

Mr Fennessy, whose fatal overdose of prescription drugs in January 2010 was the subject of The Canberra Times' podcast Losing Paul, was an experienced doctor-shopper.

In the three years before his death, Mr Fennessy had obtained and filled more than 150 prescriptions from 18 doctors across Canberra.

A post mortem showed not one of the seven drugs present in his body was illegal, but rather a toxic combination of opioids, anti-psychotics and anti-depressants.

In the wake of the coroner's recommendations, the ACT government set aside $739,000 for a scheme and promised it would be operational by March 2019.

Mr Fennessy's mother Ann Finlay welcomed progress in establishing the prescription-monitoring system, but reiterated calls for it to be accompanied by greater resources to support people battling mental health problems and drug and alcohol addictions. 

It's unclear what substances would be covered by the scheme, but a spokeswoman for ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said it was a key part of the government’s strategy to minimise harm from controlled medicines like oxycodone.

"The misuse and abuse of prescription medicines in Australia is of growing national concern and has significant health, social and economic consequences for patients, families and the wider community," she said.

The scheme will not be mandatory, and the spokeswoman said the use of the system was to help health professionals "make safe and appropriate clinical decisions, not to impose additional regulations and penalties".

The software they will use is called DORA, and the spokeswoman pointed to its success in Tasmania, where a voluntary scheme has been in place since 2011.

"In Tasmania, the use of DORA has been linked to a reduction of opioid-related deaths, from 33 deaths in 2007, to 15 deaths in 2013," she said.

Ms Fitzharris will also attend COAG later this week, where it is understood a national prescription-monitoring scheme will be discussed.

Victoria has also committed $29.5 million to building a centralised tracking system that can provide up-to-the-minute information on the prescription histories of patients.

On Wednesday, Labor backbencher Suzanne Orr will call on the government to set up a larger scale "virtual power plant" in the ACT.

The ACT is already carrying out what is likely the largest trial of a virtual power plant made from residential solar battery systems in Australia, involving about 400 Canberra homes.

While former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and and Elon Musk's Tesla had planned to create the world’s largest virtual power plant, with 50,000 home solar systems backed by Tesla batteries, newly elected premier Steven Marshall has been tight-lipped on the future of the project.

Across the chamber, Canberra Liberals transport spokeswoman Candice Burch will call on the government to improve bus punctuality, with ACTION buses only meeting benchmarks in two of 90 weeks since mid-2016.

School buses have also been arriving after the bell, or departing before classes have finished, Ms Burch said.

The Liberals' gaming and racing spokesman Mark Parton will move that the Assembly condemn the ACT government's receipt of greyhound racing revenue through Tabcorp, despite banning the sport in Canberra.

The ACT has pocketed $1.053 million from the Tabcorp licence this financial year, 22 per cent of which comes from greyhound racing, according to Mr Parton.

Greens crossbencher Caroline Le Couteur will also table her finalised legislation to enshrine a positive definition of consent in the Crimes Act.