Saffron Series User FAQ

This webinar

Can I view a video of these FAQ sessions?

The Saffron Series recordings will be available on our Vimeo channel in late January.

Upgrading to Saffron

We have only just upgraded to version Jade. Will this webinar be relevant to me or should I wait till we update to Saffron?

Best Practice Software recommend all Practices upgrade to Saffron for Active Ingredient Prescribing (AIP) as it becomes mandatory on the 1st of February.

Do I need to upgrade to Jade SP4 before upgrading to Saffron?

No, you can upgrade from Indigo SP1 or later.

Do you have to upgrade to Saffron for Active Ingredient Prescribed scripts?

Yes, you need to upgrade to Saffron to be able to use AIP. Jade SP4 and all previous versions do not Active Ingredient PrescribingAIP.

Is Saffron ready to be installed here?

Saffron was released 13 January to all Bp users from our website.

What is the anticipated timeline for Saffron Service Pack 1?

Best Practice Software are aiming for a March release for Saffron SP1.

Any known issues in the Saffron release we need to know about?

Known issues for Saffron can be found in the release notes.

Best Practice Software released a Data Update revision for the January Data Update on January 20. Download the revision from the Best Practice Software website.

Active Ingredient Prescribing

To enable the active ingredient prescribing change, do we have to update to Saffron before the 1st Feb 2021 or will it come through on a data update?

Yes, you need to update to Saffron to be able to use Active Ingredient Prescribing. This is a software update, not a data update, so you will need to upgrade to Saffron before 1st February, 2021.

Best Practice recommends you also run the latest data update each month as soon as it becomes available.

Does the doctor have to select to use the brand name of prescription for each individual prescription, or is there a way their preference can be set to show both?

As per government regulations, this decision needs to be made for each individual prescription.

Will the LMBC list change?

Yes, it's very likely that the LMBC will be refined over time. Changes will be updated through a Data Update.

View the LMBC on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare website.

When providers now prescribe, will Bp automatically default prescriptions to the active ingredient name, or do providers have to manually do this?

Medications will now be listed by Active Ingredient by default, rather than brand name. If prescribers wish to prescribe by brand name, they need to tick the Display Brand Name of Scripts checkbox.

Active Ingredient Prescribing-related changes in this release mean that prescriptions written for PBS and RPBS medication will have the medication's active ingredients listed on them by default, rather than a brand name. The List of Medicines for Brand Consideration (LMBC) identifies medicines for which you may wish to consider if including the brand name on the prescription is necessary for the patient.

The LMBC is a guide intended to support clinical decision-making only. The decision as to whether or not a drug is prescribed by brand name or not is still made by the prescribing doctor, based upon the appropriate clinical outcome for the patient. If you prescribe a drug that is included on the LMBC in Bp Premier, a message will appear in the New Rx wizard, indicating that you may wish to consider prescribing by brand.

With Active Ingredient Prescribing, does the doctor now need to look for the brand name or the active ingredient when they prescribe?

For example, if you type 'nurofen', will ibuprofen come up? Or does the doctor HAVE to type 'ibuprofen'?)

There are no changes to the search function when adding or editing Rx under Active Ingredient Prescribing. You will have to specifically type the beginning of the drug or product you are searching for, for that result to appear.

Searching for 'nurofen' will not return 'ibuprofen' in the list of results.

Can we use active ingredient prescribing but ask for a specific brand?

Yes. There is a Display Brand Name of Scripts checkbox in the New Prescription Wizard, which is needed for those medications where a brand name is needed, for example, Insulin.

Is there any dispensation for active ingredient prescribing if we are unable to implement Saffron before the 1st Feb?

We are currently experiencing issues trying to implement Saffron and timeframes to test within our environment are very tight.

Unfortunately not. The government has legislated it to be mandatory from 1 February 2021.

Electronic Prescribing

Why does sending electronic prescription tokens via email not cost any credits?

Sending an electronic prescription via email is being facilitated by Medication Knowledge, a joint venture between eRx and Medisecure. Medication Knowledge is currently not charging for this email service. Therefore, Best Practice is not on-charging for this service.

There is also no cost involved if you choose to print electronic prescription tokens.

Does electronic prescribing need to be configured again after upgrading to Saffron?

No, the configuration will have remained the same.

We are with Medisecure. Do we need to change to eRx?

Currently, only eRx is supported in Saffron to send electronic prescriptions. We will be integrating MediSecure in Saffron SP1, which will be released around March 2021.

If you wish to use electronic prescriptions before then, you'll need to have eRx installed on your network.

National Cancer Screening Register and FHIR

Do I first have to set up FHIR, then set up NCSR?

Yes, you will need to configure FHIR on your network before using NCSR. Detailed instructions are available on our Knowledge Base. Search for 'FHIR'.

What does FHIR stand for?

What is it?

It's an acronym for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources.

FHIR is a standard for health care data exchange, published by HL7®.

Where do we see the NCSR in Saffron?

You can access this from the View drop-down menu in the clinical record. You'll see an option for 'NCSR Hub' at the bottom of this menu.

More info with screen shots is available on our knowledge base. Search for 'NCSR'.

Does the provider have to be registered with the NCSR before being able to access this in Bp?

You will need to register your organisation before accessing NCSR. Once this is done, all providers and practice staff can access the NCSR Hub. There is no need to register individual providers.

Where is NCSR accessed in the Bp patient file?

Once enabled, you can access the NCSR Hub by opening the View drop-down menu from the top of the patient's clinical record. At the bottom of the list you will find two options: 'NCSR Hub' and 'NCSR Forms'.

You can also access the hub via the Notification panel within the patient record. If there are any outstanding actions (e.g., patient is overdue as per our record), it will be displayed in RED in that section and you can double click on the text and it will re-direct you to the NCSR Hub.

Where do I enable NSCR? In Configuration?

Step-by-step instructions are available to access from the Saffron Series page in the Knowledge Base for NCSR. Select Help > Online and search for 'NCSR'.

Secure messaging: How will setup be different? Between Argus and HealthLink, for example.

Setup is mostly the same: you still need to install a secure messaging system and configure this in Bp as a Messaging provider. When you select a FHIR R4 compliant directory, you will now be able to choose your preferred secure messaging provider.

Part of this process you will need to configure the 'Sending Facility' for the messaging provider. This is the only different configuration required and at the moment is not needed, there are no R4 directories available at this time. This will be updated in future data updates as directories become available.

Is there any timeframe for Breast Cancer screening to be available in the NCSR?

No, we don't have a timeframe on when Breast Cancer Screening will be available as part of the National Cancer Screening Register.

Bp Comms and Best Health App

Where do you access Bp Comms consent in Bp?

In the patient demographics, there is a Bp Comms Consent button below the Appointment Notes field.

Should we have patients using the Best Health App? How can I find out more about this?

There is plenty of information on our Knowledge Base around the Best Health App. Select Help > Online within Bp Premier and type 'Best Health App' in the search.

If you want to go ahead with using the Best Health App, you'll need to give our Sales team a call to organise a Welcome Pack. Our website has some other great information on this as well: https://bpsoftware.net/best-health-app-overview/.

How do we know if we are registered for BP Comms?

To see if you currently have Bp Comms configured, go to Setup > Configuration > Bp Comms. Click Configure SMS to see if there is any information set up in there. If not, you can also contact our Sales team to help you sign up on 1300 401 111.

If a practice is registered for Best Health App and a patient has the app, do electronic scripts still go as SMS, or do they appear in the app?

When sending electronic prescriptions to patients, the prescribers can choose how to send the token to the patient: SMS, App, or email. They can also print a paper prescription with the token on it if they wish.

Are Bp Comms credits and Bp SMS credits different?

No, they are the same thing. Bp Comms include both SMS credits and Best Health App credits as well. You need to pre-purchase credits which will cover both types of messages.

The Federal government is meeting the cost of SMS and Best Practice is meeting the cost of Best Health App notifications until 31st March 2021.

Once we have organised Bp Comms, is there any particular way we have to configure it in Bp?

Yes, you'll need to purchase SMS credits and configure Bp Comms in the Setup window.

Instructions for this process are detailed on our Knowledge Base which you can access via Help > Online from within the program. Search for 'bp comms'.

For clinical only practices, how do you implement Bp Comms for electronic scripts?

There's lots of information available on our Knowledge Base on how to implement Bp Comms if you want to take a look.

You can access via Help > Online from within the program. Search for 'bp comms'.

Can we start using Bp Comms for electronic scripts now?

Yes, you can upgrade to Saffron and start, or continue to issue electronic scripts sent by token. The cost of SMS is covered by the federal government and Best Practice is covering app notifications until 31 March 2021.

How do patients consent to electronic prescribing via Bp comms?

To send an electronic prescribing token to a patient's mobile phone or email, no consent type needs to be recorded in patient demographics. Consent is implied at consultation when the patient agrees to receive the token by those methods.

However, to send a token to a patient's Best Health App, the consent type of 'Clinical Communications' within the Bp Comms Consent section in the patient record must be enabled, and the patient must be enrolled in Best Health App and have downloaded the app onto their mobile device.

Third-party integrations

Do all third-party vendors know that they have to apply for a password for their organisation so their software can access the data base from you?

The Commercial Partnerships team has communicated the changes being made to Saffron to our third-party integrators on our Partner Network and the steps required, in order for their integration to continue accessing the Bp database.

If Practices become aware of an integrator that is not a Bp Partner, we encourage you to contact our Commercial Partnerships team on 1300 40 1111 (option 4) without delay.

Does Saffron integrate with all versions of Pracsoft issue-free?

If you are on a Clinical-only licence with Bp and use a third-party for management functions, Saffron will continue to work as expected. However, you will need to obtain a Bp Comms licence for Clinical-only sites to use electronic prescribing. Contact our Sales team for more information.

We use Hotdoc for reminders. Will Saffon continue to work fine with this?

Yes, Hotdoc integrates seamlessly with Saffron.

However, if you wish to send electronic prescriptions to patients using either SMS or App, you will need to purchase Bp Comms credits. More information on electronic prescriptions can be found on our Knowledge Base.

Other changes

Do you need to change password prior to the update to Saffron?

It's up to you whether you want to activate the Password Security changes which have been implemented in Saffron. You'll have the opportunity to do this after you've upgraded to Saffron.

Does each doctor get their own acknowledgment for e-referrals?

Yes, every e-referral which is sent will get an acknowledgment if it is successfully delivered.

From the Main Screen in Bp, navigate to View > eReferrals and you can track all e-referrals which have been sent via Secure Messaging.

Will all custom templates transfer as normal for BP Saffron?

Yes, they will.

Just checking that I'm not required to implement enhanced password security from the time of the upgrade? Is it optional?

It's optional. Password security functionality isn't on by default when you install Saffron, but we do recommend its implementation if you're using electronic scripts.