What is the eRx Script Exchange? How eScripts work in Australia

Every electronic prescription in Australia travels through a prescription delivery service — and eRx Script Exchange is the main one. When your doctor, dentist or nurse practitioner creates an eScript, their software sends it to the exchange, which issues the token (the QR code you receive by SMS or email) and holds the prescription securely until any pharmacy in Australia scans that token and dispenses it.

Is eRx the same thing as my prescribing software?

No — and this is the most common confusion. eRx Script Exchange is national infrastructure, operated by Fred IT Group. It moves prescriptions between prescribers and pharmacies. Prescribing software (like Parchment) is what a clinician actually uses to create the prescription; it connects to the exchange on their behalf. You cannot "sign up to eRx" as an individual prescriber — you use conformant prescribing software, and it uses the exchange.

How does an eScript actually get to the pharmacy?

1. The prescriber creates the prescription in their clinical or prescribing software.

2. The software sends it to the eRx Script Exchange and registers it with the National Prescription Delivery Service.

3. The patient receives a token — a QR code link — by SMS or email.

4. The patient presents the token at any Australian pharmacy; the pharmacist scans it, retrieves the prescription from the exchange, and dispenses.

5. If there are repeats, a new token is issued for the remaining supply.

The original prescription never lives on the patient's phone — the token is just a key. Lose the SMS and the prescriber or pharmacy can resend it.

Does using eRx cost anything?

For PBS prescriptions, the exchange itself is funded — prescribers and patients don't pay a transaction fee to eRx. What prescribers pay for is their prescribing software. Pharmacies pay dispense-side fees as part of their dispense software arrangements.

What software can send prescriptions through the exchange?

Only software listed on the Australian Digital Health Agency's Electronic Prescribing Conformance Register may issue electronic prescriptions. Most GP systems have it built in. For everyone else — dentists, nurse practitioners, optometrists, telehealth clinics, and practices whose software doesn't prescribe — Parchment is a conformant prescribing platform (CPv3.0.1, registered since August 2024) that works standalone or embedded inside practice management software. It connects to the exchange for you: see how it works or browse integrations.

Can patients still get paper prescriptions?

Yes. Electronic prescriptions are optional for patients — a prescriber can always issue a paper script instead, and conformant software supports both. Around 40% of Australian prescriptions are now electronic, and the share keeps rising.

Published 30 August 2026. Sources: Australian Digital Health Agency electronic prescribing guidance and conformance register; eRx Script Exchange public documentation.