Information for health professionals

The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Regulations 2006

Requirements for health professionals

Guide to the Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Regulations 2006 (61kb, pdf)

The following documents provide summaries of key requirements for specific categories of health professional under the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 and the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Regulations 2006 (both available on the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website).

Reference should be made to the legislation for full details of the requirements.

Policy for the issue of permits to prescribe Schedule 8 poisons - August 2009 (101kb, pdf)

Also provided are related forms.

Medical practitioners

• Key prescribing requirements for medical practitioners (38kb, pdf)
  Summary of key requirements that directly affect medical practitioners in Victoria.
  
  
• Schedule 8 Permit and Notification Requirements from 1 March 2009 (37kb, pdf)
  
  
  • Hospital Circular 5/2009 via Department of Health (27kb, pdf)
    
    
  • Prisons Circular via Department of Justice (28kb, pdf)
    
    
  • Circular to pharmacotherpay prescribers directly (36kb, pdf)
    
    
  • General circular to a range of medical practitioner, nurse practitioner and pharmacy organisations (35kb, pdf)
    
    
• Obtaining information and dealing with drug-seeking patients - 2009 (45kb, pdf) Summary to assist medical practitioners seeking information about suspected drug-seeking patients.
  
  
• Managing drugs in general practice (45kb, pdf) Summary to assist in understanding storage and related requirements in a general practice clinic.
  
  
• Case studies for medical practitioners (36kb, pdf)

Medical practitioners may use the following forms to apply for approval to treat a patient with Schedule 8 drugs, apply for various warrants, and to notify the department of a patient's drug dependence.

• Application for a permit to treat a patient with Schedule 8 drugs (181kb, pdf)

• Application for a warrant to obtain or use ovulatory stimulants (29kb, pdf)

• Application for a warrant to obtain or use prostaglandins (31kb, pdf)

• Application for a warrant to obtain or use retinoids (41kb, pdf)

• Application for a warrant to obtain or use thalidomide (52kb, pdf)

• Notification of drug dependent person (157kb, pdf)

Nurses

• Key requirements for nurses in residential aged care facilities (40kb, pdf)

• Key requirements for nurses in acute care facilities (other than nurse practitioners) (39kb, pdf)

Summaries to assist nurses in understanding their obligations under the legislation.

Pharmacists

• Interventions by pharmacists (48kb, pdf)
  Summary to clarify pharmacists' legislative and professional intervention responsibilities.

• Mangement of Schedule 8 poisons in pharmacies (43kb, pdf)

• Case studies for pharmacists (35kb, pdf)

• Case study - Forged prescriptions for anabolic agents (35kb, pdf)

• Self administration by doctors (36kb, pdf)
  Case studies provided to indicate what steps pharmacists could and/or should have taken to comply with their legislative responsibilities.

• Forged prescription report form (12kb, pdf)
  Form to report forged or altered prescriptions.

Veterinary practitioners

• Key requirements for veterinary practitioners (36kb, pdf)
  Summary to advise veterinary practitioners of their obligations under the legislation and to facilitate their understanding of it.

Dental practitioners

• Key requirements for dental practitioners (37kb, pdf)
  Summary to advise dental practitioners of their obligations under the legislation and to facilitate their understanding of it.

Optometrists

• Key requirements for optometrists (37kb, pdf)
  Summary to advise Optometrists of their obligations under the legislation and to facilitate their understanding of it.
  
  
• Search the Public Register of Optometrists
  The Register shows whether an optometrist is endorsed to prescribe Schedule 4 poisons within the meaning of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981, for the purpose of section 11 of the Optometrists Registration Act 1996.

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