Active Script List in Australia – What It Is and How It Works

An Active Script List (ASL) is a digital list used to help manage your active prescriptions in Australia. It can reduce the need to keep track of separate eScript tokens sent by SMS or email. Once you are registered, participating pharmacies can access your ASL with your consent when dispensing an eligible electronic prescription.

If you manage several electronic prescriptions or repeats, keeping track of separate SMS and email tokens can become difficult. Understanding how an Active Script List works can help you choose a practical way to manage your prescription information. You can also read more about how eScripts work in Australia.

Key Takeaways

• An Active Script List brings active prescriptions together in one digital list.
• It can reduce the need to manage separate SMS or email eScript tokens.
• You need to register for an ASL before using it.
• Participating pharmacies need appropriate access and consent to use your list.
• An ASL is part of electronic prescribing but is different from an individual eScript token and My Health Record.
• It may be particularly useful for people managing several regular prescriptions or repeats.

What Is an Active Script List?

ASL stands for Active Script List. It is part of Australia’s electronic-prescribing system and provides a consolidated list of active prescriptions. It can include electronic prescriptions and barcoded paper prescriptions. If a barcoded paper prescription appears on the list, the physical paper prescription is still required when the medicine is dispensed.

An ASL is not your complete medical record or treatment history, and it does not change what a healthcare professional has prescribed. Its purpose is to help manage active prescription information in one place rather than relying only on separate electronic prescription tokens.

How Does an Active Script List Work?

1. Register for an ASL. You first need to register for an Active Script List through an appropriate pharmacy or prescriber that supports the service.
2. Electronic prescriptions are added. After registration, electronic prescriptions you receive are generally added to your ASL automatically unless you ask for a particular prescription not to be added.
3. Visit a pharmacy. When you want a prescription dispensed, you confirm your identity and provide the required consent for the pharmacy to access your ASL.
4. The pharmacy accesses the relevant prescription. Instead of presenting an individual SMS or email token, the pharmacy can locate an available prescription through your ASL. If the prescription has repeats, available repeats can also be managed through the list.

Active Script List vs eScript Token: What’s the Difference?

Both are part of Australia’s electronic-prescribing system, but they manage prescription access differently.

You do not need an Active Script List to use an eScript. Individual tokens remain another way to access electronic prescriptions. 

How Do You Set Up an Active Script List?

1. Ask your preferred pharmacy whether it can register you for an Active Script List.
2. Bring your mobile phone and the identification required for registration. Current Australian Digital Health Agency guidance says you may be asked to provide 100 points of identification.
3. Review the ASL terms and provide the required consent.
4. Ask the pharmacy how future electronic prescriptions and repeats will appear on your list.
5. If you want to connect your ASL to a supported prescription-management app, ask the pharmacy for an ASL linking code.

Most community pharmacies in Australia can register patients for an Active Script List, but it is worth confirming that your preferred pharmacy supports the service before you visit. 

Can a Pharmacy See Your Active Script List?

A pharmacy does not automatically receive unrestricted access to your Active Script List simply because you have registered for one. When using your ASL at a pharmacy, you confirm your identity and provide the required consent for that pharmacy to access the list.

Once initial access has been authorised, the pharmacy can use the ASL to identify available prescriptions for dispensing. If you have questions about who can access your prescription information or how consent works, ask your pharmacy before authorising access.

What Is an ASL Linking Code?

An ASL linking code allows your Active Script List to be connected to a supported app for managing electronic prescriptions. You can request a linking code from a pharmacy that supports the ASL service and use it when connecting your list to a compatible app, such as the 1800MEDICARE app.

Can You View Your Active Script List on Your Phone?

The 1800MEDICARE app, formerly known as the my health app, can be used to store electronic prescriptions and check an existing Active Script List. The Australian Digital Health Agency says you need a myGov account linked to My Health Record to get started with the app.

The app can also provide access to other health information, including parts of your My Health Record, which is one reason it is important to understand that the app, My Health Record and your Active Script List are related but separate concepts.

What Happens to Repeat Prescriptions in an ASL?

An Active Script List can also help manage repeat prescriptions. When a prescription with repeats is dispensed, available repeats are automatically added to the ASL, reducing the need to keep track of a separate token for every dispensing event.

Only active prescriptions are available through the list. A prescription that has expired, been cancelled or has no repeats remaining should not be assumed to remain available for dispensing.

For a closer explanation, see how eScript repeats work.

Is an Active Script List the Same as My Health Record?

No. An Active Script List and My Health Record are separate parts of Australia’s digital-health ecosystem.

An ASL is specifically used to help manage active prescriptions and prescription tokens. My Health Record contains a much broader range of health information, which may include medicines information, pathology results, immunisation information and other clinical documents.

The 1800MEDICARE app can provide access to information from My Health Record as well as electronic prescriptions and an existing Active Script List.

What If You Lose an eScript Token?

Losing or deleting an eScript token does not necessarily mean the underlying electronic prescription has been lost. If the missing token relates to the original prescription, contact the prescriber who issued it. If it relates to a repeat, contact the pharmacy that issued the repeat token.

If you already have an Active Script List and the prescription is available through it, you may not need to present the individual token at a participating pharmacy.

For detailed instructions, see what to do if you lose an eScript token.

Who May Find an Active Script List Useful?

• People managing several regular prescriptions.
• People with multiple eScript tokens or repeat prescriptions.
• People who regularly use electronic prescriptions.
• People who find separate SMS or email tokens difficult to organise.
• People who help manage another person’s prescriptions where appropriate authorised arrangements are in place.

If you only use an occasional electronic prescription, an individual eScript token may already meet your needs. An ASL is optional rather than a requirement for using electronic prescriptions.

How Does This Relate to Telehealth and Online Prescriptions?

An Active Script List is part of Australia’s broader electronic-prescribing system and is not limited to prescriptions issued through telehealth. Electronic prescriptions can be issued during appropriate in-person or telehealth consultations.

If an electronic prescription is issued following an appropriate online prescription consultation in Australia, it can use the same electronic-prescribing infrastructure as prescriptions issued during an in-person consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an Active Script List to use an eScript? No. Individual electronic prescription tokens remain another way to manage eScripts.

Does every eScript automatically go to my ASL? 

Once you are registered for an Active Script List, electronic prescriptions you receive are generally added automatically. You can ask your prescriber for a particular prescription not to be added. 

Do I still need SMS prescription tokens if I have an ASL? Not necessarily for ASL-enabled dispensing, although you may still choose to receive tokens.

Can I use my Active Script List at different pharmacies? 

Yes. Once you are registered for an ASL, you can use it at another pharmacy that supports the system by confirming your identity and providing the required consent for that pharmacy to access the list. 

Is an Active Script List compulsory? No. You do not need an ASL to receive or use an electronic prescription. You can continue to receive individual eScript tokens by SMS or email if that approach works better for you. 

Australian Information and Sources

• Australian Digital Health Agency — Electronic Prescriptions and Active Script Lists
  Electronic Prescriptions and Active Script Lists
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Electronic Prescribing
  Electronic Prescribing
• Australian Digital Health Agency — 1800MEDICARE App
  1800MEDICARE App
• Australian Government — Electronic Prescribing Active Script List Privacy Framework
  Active Script List Privacy Framework