The Electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) is an important part of medication management in residential aged care. It enables prescribers, pharmacists, and aged care staff to work from the same digital chart, covering the legal prescribing, supply, and claiming of PBS and RPBS medicines, including Schedule 8 (S8) drugs.
Recently, the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) updated the conformance requirements for eNRMC systems. These changes strengthen medication safety, improve prescribing accuracy, and ensure tighter integration across the healthcare network.
Acredia has now successfully completed all required conformance testing and received formal approval from the ADHA.
What eNRMC Does
Through a conformant eNRMC system like Acredia’s, providers can:
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Prescribe electronically: Doctors can prescribe PBS and RPBS medicines directly within the resident’s chart, without duplicate paper scripts.
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Enable pharmacist access: Prescriptions are retrieved directly from the National Prescription Delivery Service (NPDS), eliminating manual transcription.
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Record in real time: Aged care staff record medication administration at the bedside, alongside other resident health details.
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Support continuity of care: Information flows into My Health Record, ensuring safe transfers and accurate hospital communication.
This creates a single, trusted source of truth for all aspects of medication management.
What Has Changed in the Requirements
The ADHA’s updated eNRMC requirements raise the expectations for providers and software vendors. Key updates include:
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NPDS connection – all prescriptions must be stored in and retrieved from the NPDS.
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Six-month chart duration – medication charts are now valid for six months from the date of the first PBS prescription.
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Prescriber registration – every doctor, including locums, must have an individual account.
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Resident details – Medicare, pension, and DVA numbers, allergies, and psychotropic consent must be accurately recorded.
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Sedation Assessment Tool – new functionality to record and monitor sedation scores.
By meeting these updated requirements, Acredia ensures providers can stay compliant while also reducing the risks and inefficiencies tied to paper-based or transitional systems.
Why This Matters
For aged care providers, the benefits of Acredia’s conformant eNRMC include:
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Compliance with ADHA’s updated requirements without extra modules or manual workarounds.
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Safer prescribing and administration with fewer transcription errors.
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Less paperwork and longer chart validity, reducing administrative workload.
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Clearer workflows for prescribers, locums, pharmacists, and care staff.
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Better data accuracy for hospital transfers and My Health Record updates.
Practical Example
Consider a resident who is prescribed a new PBS medication while also taking multiple existing prescriptions. Previously, pharmacists may have needed to manually re-enter details into their dispensing software. With Acredia’s eNRMC, the prescription is stored in the NPDS and retrieved directly, eliminating duplication and the risk of error.
At the same time, nurses can record administration at the bedside on a tablet, with the update flowing straight into the resident’s chart and My Health Record. This ensures all parties — prescribers, staff, and pharmacists — have accurate, up-to-date information.
Preparing for Rollout
Providers planning to adopt eNRMC should ensure:
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Residents have an Individual Health Identifier (IHI).
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Prescribers, including locums, have Healthcare Professional Identifiers (HPI-Is).
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Resident details (Medicare, pension, DVA, allergies) are up to date.
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Medication charts are converted into the new eNRMC format.
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Staff receive training — including prescribers, pharmacists, and aged care staff.
Acredia provides a full implementation pack, chart conversion support, and training to make adoption simple and reliable.
More Resources for Providers
If you’d like to learn more about how eNRMC supports safer prescribing and medication management in aged care, the Australian Digital Health Agency has a full overview here.
For existing Acredia clients, detailed implementation resources, Quick Guides, and training materials are available through your account and on our Resources page.
