Script monitoring: 5000 doctors sent ‘intimidating and insulting’ compliance letters  

The letters provided no detail on the alleged breaches.

Thousands of doctors have received “intimidating and insulting” compliance letters for allegedly not checking script-monitoring software before prescribing drugs of addiction, AMA Queensland says.

The letters relate to QScript, which sends doctors an alert if they are about to prescribe S8 drugs or high-risk S4 drugs, such as benzodiazepines, to patients who already have a script for them.   

Queensland laws say doctors can be fined up to $2757 for failing to check QScript when obligated, although the letter is labelled “for educational purposes” and stresses “no regulatory action is being taken”.

It tells doctors: “During the review period, from 1 January 2023 to 31 January 2023 (inclusive), it was identified that you did not check QScript on one or more occasions when you were required to do so.”