How do e-scripts work?

How e-scripts work in Australia

An e-script is a digital prescription. After your consult, your clinician sends you a unique token — a QR code or link by SMS or email — that any Australian pharmacy can scan to dispense your medication. Each token covers one fill. Repeats arrive as a fresh token after the previous one is dispensed. You can also store all your tokens in one place using an Active Script List, including through MyMedicare or a participating pharmacy.

What does an e-script token look like?

An Australian e-script is sent to you as a barcode or QR-code link. When you tap the link, your phone shows the script details and a scannable code. You hand the phone to the pharmacist (or forward the message), they scan the code, and the medication is dispensed against the script number recorded in the national prescription exchange.

This is the same format used across Australia under the Department of Health's electronic prescribing framework. The Department's plain-English overview is published at health.gov.au. The format is interoperable, which means an Abby script will work at the pharmacy of your choice — independent, chain or online — without you needing to pick a specific pharmacy in advance.

How do I send my e-script to a chemist?

You have three sensible options:

• Show the QR code in person — open the SMS or email, tap the link, hand the phone over. The pharmacist scans, and you wait for the medication.
• Forward the SMS or email to a pharmacy that offers home delivery. They will scan the code from their end.
• Add it to an Active Script List — see below — and ask the pharmacist to look it up by your name and date of birth.

If you would prefer the medication brought to your door, see can I get my prescription delivered and medication delivery — how it works.

How do repeats work with e-scripts?

Each e-script token is single-use: it covers the original supply or a single repeat, not all of them. When you dispense the original, the pharmacy's system automatically issues you a new token by SMS or email for the next repeat — usually within a minute or two of leaving the counter. You keep that new token until you need to fill the next supply.

If you lose the latest token, contact the pharmacy that last dispensed the script and they can re-issue it from the prescription exchange. Tokens are tied to your patient record, not to the device, so a new phone does not break your repeats. For ongoing medications, see repeat prescriptions online explained and auto-renew repeat prescriptions.

What is an Active Script List?

An Active Script List, or ASL, is a single place where all your active e-scripts live, instead of you keeping a folder of SMS messages on your phone. Once you opt in (usually at a participating pharmacy or through your My Health Record / MyMedicare account), any pharmacy in Australia can look up your active scripts with your consent. You stop juggling tokens; the pharmacist sees the latest list.

The ASL is run under the same privacy framework as the rest of My Health Record, governed by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner — see your privacy rights. You can opt in or out at any time, and a clinician can only see your ASL when you give them consent in a consult. For more on MyMedicare and Medicare-funded telehealth, see Medicare and telehealth: what eligible Australians can access.

Are e-scripts secure?

Yes. Each token contains a single-use prescription identifier rather than your full medical record. Tokens are time-stamped, linked to your patient record, and dispensed against the central prescription exchange so the same script cannot be filled twice. Treat the token like a payment QR code — do not forward it to anyone other than your pharmacy. If you suspect your token has been intercepted, message Abby support and your clinician will cancel and re-issue.

Our clinicians are AHPRA-registered, and you can verify any practitioner's registration on the public AHPRA register.

What if my e-script doesn't arrive?

Most tokens arrive within a minute of the consult ending. If yours has not, check your SMS spam folder, confirm the mobile number on your Abby account, and check your email's promotions tab. If it is still missing after 10 minutes, message us through the app — your clinician can re-issue the token without needing a fresh consult. If your symptoms are severe or worsening while you wait, call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department.

How Abby can help

An Abby consult covers the full prescribing pathway — assessment, e-script, repeat plan, and a follow-up if anything changes. Your clinician sees your history through Abby AI, our medical decision-support tool, before they begin, so the conversation starts in context. Begin at abbyhealth.app/services/prescriptions or browse how to get a prescription online in Australia. Abby appointments are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card.