Changing clinics
How to switch clinics in Tasmania
LeafLine Clinic cannot currently take on patients located in Tasmania. A Tasmanian rule about who may prescribe is the reason, and the Tasmanian Department of Health is the place to ask.
- Not currently available in Tasmania
- Your records remain yours
LeafLine Clinic cannot currently take on patients located in Tasmania, including patients transferring from another clinic. The reason is a Tasmanian rule about who may prescribe, set out below, and we would rather say so before you book than after.
Tasmanian law authorises a Clinician of our kind to prescribe certain medicines only under a written authorisation from the Secretary of the Department of Health, issued under section 25B of the Poisons Act 1971 (Tas). LeafLine’s Clinicians do not hold that authorisation. Until the Department confirms the position in writing, we decline Tasmanian enquiries at the eligibility check rather than at a paid consultation.
How it works
What to do instead
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Ask your previous clinic for your records
You are entitled to a copy of your own health records and treatment summary. Ask for them now, while the clinic still has your file to hand, and keep them with your approval letter and prescription details.
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Ask the Tasmanian Department of Health who can prescribe
The Department’s Pharmaceutical Services Branch administers the authorisations described on this page. Your regular GP or your previous clinic can also tell you which Tasmanian prescribers hold them.
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Give the new clinic written consent to request your file
A clinic that can treat you in Tasmania can request your records from your previous clinic with your written consent, in the same way LeafLine does for patients in other states.
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Check back here
If the Department confirms in writing that the authorisation is issued to Clinicians practising from interstate, this page and the LeafLine eligibility check will change with it.
Before you book
What changes when your prescriber changes
The Therapeutic Goods Administration grants the approval behind your prescription to the practitioner who applied for it, for you, for the period written on the approval letter. Only that practitioner can prescribe under it. When you move clinics and your new Clinician decides to prescribe, they make a new application after your transfer consultation, and the TGA states it processes applications in 2 to 5 days.
Bring your existing approval letter and current prescription details to the consultation if you have them. They answer most of the questions the new application asks, and they let your Clinician see how long your current approval has left to run.
The federal approval behind any prescription names the practitioner who applied for it and does not transfer between clinics. In Tasmania the state layer adds the section 25B authorisation, and a further Secretary’s authority for a patient with a history of drug dependence or for treatment beyond the period set by the Minister. No LeafLine Clinician holds any of those instruments, so no LeafLine Clinician can take over a Tasmanian prescription today.
TAS
Where to ask instead
The Tasmanian Department of Health administers prescribing rules through its Pharmaceutical Services Branch and publishes patient information on its website. Your previous clinic, or your regular GP, can tell you which prescribers in the state hold the authorisations described above.
Whatever you decide, your records remain yours. Australian Privacy Principle 12 requires an organisation that holds your personal information to give you access to it on request, within a reasonable period, which the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says should generally not exceed 30 calendar days. Your previous clinic may charge for copies. If you later move to a clinic that can treat you in Tasmania, that clinic can request them with your written consent, as LeafLine does for patients elsewhere.
The Department’s website is the place to ask which prescribers hold a Tasmanian authorisation. Tasmanian Department of Health.
Switching clinics in Tasmania: common questions
Can I transfer my care to LeafLine if I live in Tasmania?
Not at present. The Poisons Act 1971 (Tas) authorises a Clinician of our kind to prescribe certain medicines only under a written authorisation from the Secretary of the Department of Health, and LeafLine’s Clinicians do not hold one. The eligibility check declines Tasmanian addresses so that nobody pays for a consultation that cannot proceed.
Why does the Tasmanian rule apply to LeafLine and not to my current clinic?
Medical practitioners are authorised by the Tasmanian Act itself in the ordinary practice of their profession. A Clinician of LeafLine’s kind is authorised only under a written instrument from the Secretary issued under section 25B, and ours do not hold one. A clinic whose prescribers are medical practitioners, or that holds the authorisation, is in a different position.
Will this change?
It depends on the Department of Health confirming in writing whether the section 25B authorisation is issued to Clinicians practising from interstate. If that position changes, this page and the eligibility check will change with it.
What should I do about my records in the meantime?
Ask your previous clinic for a copy of your records and treatment summary. Australian Privacy Principle 12 requires an organisation that holds your personal information to give you access to it on request, within a reasonable period, which the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says should generally not exceed 30 calendar days. Keep the copy with your approval letter and prescription details, because any new clinic will ask for them.