Commencing 1 March 2022 Lagevrio® (molnupiravir) will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Section 85 program as an Authority Required (Streamlined) benefit for patients with mild-moderate COVID 19 who have a high risk for developing severe disease, reducing the need for admission to hospital.
Resources
- Recommendation for molnupiravir (Lagevrio®) February 2022 (.pdf)
- PBS eligibility criteria
- PBS fact sheet (.pdf)
Visit pbs.gov.au for more information.
Important note for clinicians
Not all prescribing software may have been updated to allow for ePrescribing and prescriptions may be unable to be uploaded to the Prescription Exchange Service. A standard paper based authority prescription may be supplied.
As part of the COVID-19 National Health Plan, the National Health (COVID-19 Supply of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Special Arrangement 2020 (The Special Arrangement) was implemented as an interim measure while Electronic Prescribing capability was still being implemented. Due to the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Arrangement has been extended until 31 March 2022. Fact sheets for prescribers are available on the Australian Department of Health’s website.
It is important that you update your prescribing software when appropriate to ensure the COVID-19 treatment item code changes are displayed. If you have updated your prescribing software and the item is still not appearing you can handwrite the prescription and obtain the streamlined code from the PBS website.
