Australian Medical Association

MJA media release - Although codeine-ibuprofen can be considered a relatively weak opioid analgesic, it is nevertheless addictive and more research is needed to develop health care responses to its misuse, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Matthew Frei, Clinical Head at Southern and Eastern Health Alcohol and Drug Services and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, and co-authors investigated morbidity related to the misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) codeine-ibuprofen analgesics between May 2005 and December 2008.

Twenty seven patients with serious morbidity were studied. On average, the patients were taking daily doses of 435-602mg of codeine phosphate and 6800-9400mg ibuprofen.

The AMA Position Statement on Electronic Prescription Transfer Systems – 2009 supports the development of an electronic prescription transfer system as a fundamental building block for a broader eHealth system in Australia. It sets out the high level principles that should underpin an electronic prescription transfer system.

The development of an e system in Australia is supported by:

1. the National eHealth Strategy
2. the KPMG Consultancy in Electronic Prescribing and Dispensing Final Report (commissioned by the Department of Health and Ageing);
3. the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC) Interim Report, including the supplementary paper on person-controlled electronic health records; and
4. commercial vendors actively promoting their prescribing systems.

The AMA position on other aspects of eHealth are set out in the following position statements:

AMA Position Statement – Unique Healthcare Identifiers – 2008
AMA Position Statement – Connectivity – 2007
AMA Position Statement – Safety and Quality of E-Health Systems – 2006