On 15 November 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC) received an application from eRx Script Exchange Pty Ltd (eRx) seeking revocation of authorisation AA1000472 and substitution with a new authorisation AA1000628 to facilitate the inclusion of Symbion Pty Ltd t/a Minfos (Minfos), a third provider of Conformant Prescription Delivery Services (CPDS) in the exchange of electronic scripts.
The Applicant sought revocation and substitution to support a rebuild of the infrastructure supporting the exchange of CPDS data to accommodate the entry of Minfos. The parties also sought to ensure that the ongoing operational costs of the IT infrastructure necessary to facilitate the interoperability of the CPDS are shared equally between them. Those IT services were to be provided by Medication Knowledge, which would be jointly owned by the parent companies of the pre-existing parties to authorisation AA1000472. eRx sought interim authorisation to permit entry by Minfos as soon as possible.
On 15 December 2022, the ACCC granted interim authorisation.
On 9 June 2023, eRx withdrew its application for revocation and substitution following the Department of Health and Aged Care’s procurement decision to fund a single provider of electronic prescription services: Fred IT Group. As such, the interim authorisation granted on 15 December 2022 is no longer in effect. Authorisation AA1000472 is no longer suspended, and continues until 30 June 2025. More information on that authorisation is available here.
Fred IT Group Pty Ltd have made a separate application for authorisation to negotiate arrangements with MediSecure Ltd in order to facilitate the transition to a single provider model. More information on that application is available here.
