How will 60-day prescribing impact the management of your patients with asthma?

As a healthcare professional, you may already be familiar with the 60-day prescribing initiative that began on 1 March 2024, allowing approximately 200 PBS medicines to be prescribed in 60-day quantities for various ongoing health conditions.  

From 1 Sept 2024, the third tranche of PBS medicines, including those for asthma, will be available for 60-day prescribing. This is an important opportunity to reinforce the benefit of regular preventer use among your patients with stable asthma by offering them the convenience and cost savings of a 60-day supply.

Prescribers retain full clinical discretion over what quantity of medicine is prescribed for their patients, based on their assessment of a patient’s condition at that time. 

What do you need to do to provide a 60-day prescription for asthma medicines?

As with all PBS-listed medicines, you must be satisfied that your patient meets the eligibility requirements for the subsidy. The PBS restriction for items with increased 60-day quantities includes an additional clinical criterion: “The condition must be stable for the doctor to consider the listed maximum quantity of this medicine suitable for this patient.“ 

Will patients need a new prescription to obtain a 60-day supply?

Yes, patients will need a new prescription to access a 60-day supply of their asthma medicine. Where it is clinically appropriate and in consultation with the patient, you can issue a new prescription with the appropriate maximum quantity—up to 60 days’ supply with 5 repeats, providing up to 12 months of medication. Pharmacists will then be able to supply the increased quantity as specified on the new prescription, which remains valid for a maximum of 12 months. This doesn’t mean that you can’t plan a review of their condition sooner than the 12 month mark.  

What medicines are included and how were they chosen?

Clinical experts from the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) recommended introducing 60-day prescriptions for patients with stable ongoing health conditions. 

 Criteria for inclusion included the following: 

  • Medicines must have been PBS-listed for five or more years. 
  • Medicines must not require regular monitoring or frequent dose titration. 
  • Medicines must not pose a significant risk if stockpiled. 

For a detailed list of the medicines available for 60-day prescribing and to view the PBAC outcome statement, please visit the Cheaper Medicines website. 

Why did Asthma Australia support this policy?

Asthma preventer inhaler medicines are some of the most expensive medicines on the PBS and over the past decade Asthma Australia has participated in research which repeatedly highlighted the impact of cost on the access and adherence to best practice preventer prescriptions among consumers. 

Corollary to this, repeated analysis of PBS data reveals that preventer inhaler underuse is critical among people with asthma in Australia, with data suggesting only approximately 20-30% of people are using a preventer at a rate consistent with therapeutic use. 

The 60-day prescribing entitlement has the potential to remove or reduce one of the obstacles that contribute to low preventer inhaler use and therefore impact on the high preventable burden caused by asthma in Australia. 

For more information

The Department of Health has produced an information kit to help you explain these changes to your patients. It covers various topics related to the PBS and provides answers to commonly asked questions about 60-day prescriptions. Download the information kit here. 

Further reading

For more details on 60-day prescriptions, visit the Cheaper Medicines website. 

To access a searchable list of medicines available for 60-day prescriptions, visit PBS medicines and current item codes. 

For a full list of medicines recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee as suitable for increased dispensing quantities visit the PBS website: Increased Dispensing Quantities – List of Medicines  

Resources for patients are available on the Cheaper Medicines website and 60 Day Scripts – developed by Consumers Health Forum.

We have developed a set of resources that you can share with your patients and are easily accessible here.

Contact information 

If you have any questions or require further information, please email the Department at Enquiries@health.gov.au. 

Health Professionals
Refer to Asthma Australia