❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses discrepancies between national and state guidelines regarding buprenorphine prescriptions after missed doses, raising concerns about access to prescribers and potential reliance on illicit drugs. The Minister acknowledges the issue and outlines steps being taken to address it.
AnsweredQoN 1633Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the answer to Legislative Council questions on notice 1276 and 1311. (1) Are patients on daily buprenorphine who miss two doses required to consult their doctor before getting another dose from their pharmacist? (2) If so, why is this the case, given that the national guidelines state that patients who miss five days must be reviewed by their prescriber? (3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(1) Are patients on daily buprenorphine who miss two doses required to consult their doctor before getting another dose from their pharmacist? (2) If so, why is this the case, given that the national guidelines state that patients who miss five days must be reviewed by their prescriber? (3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(2) If so, why is this the case, given that the national guidelines state that patients who miss five days must be reviewed by their prescriber? (3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(1) Are patients on daily buprenorphine who miss two doses required to consult their doctor before getting another dose from their pharmacist? (2) If so, why is this the case, given that the national guidelines state that patients who miss five days must be reviewed by their prescriber? (3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(2) If so, why is this the case, given that the national guidelines state that patients who miss five days must be reviewed by their prescriber? (3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(3) Given the reported shortage of buprenorphine prescribers, is it the case that some patients find difficulty in accessing their doctor and resort instead to illicit dealers for heroin, morphine or oxycontin? Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
Hon SUE ELLERY replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(1) Yes. (2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(2) The national guidelines refer to the number of days, and the state guidelines refer to the number of doses missed. There is a difference between the two, as buprenorphine patients may be dosed every second or third day. Therefore, missed days do not equate to missed doses. (3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
(3) The Department of Health is currently reviewing the patient numbers policy to ensure that patients have timely access to their prescriber. Patients who have difficulty accessing their prescriber can contact the patient advisory service. This service provides 24-hour support and medical advice for all pharmacotherapy patients.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.