PRIME services, lead maternity carers, and palliative care can access more medicines
Accessing emergency medicines in the community.
23 June 2026 | Tenecteplase funded on PSO
From 1 July 2026, tenecteplase will be listed on Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule and funded when supplied on a Practitioner Supply Order (PSO) with an endorsement for use by PRIME services.
PRIME services will need to order tenecteplase on a PSO from a community pharmacy, rather than from a hospital pharmacy. We suggest PRIME services talk the pharmacy about how much and how often you will order tenecteplase so they can be prepared.
What about STEMI/fibrinolysis kits?
All STEMI/fibrinolysis medicines (including tenecteplase) are funded in Section B of the Pharmaceutical Schedule. They can be ordered on a Practitioner Supply Order (PSO) from community pharmacy.
If you have any STEMI medicines/kits provided by a hospital, continue to use them until expiry, in line with current processes.
What you need to know
People delivering Primary Response in Medical Emergencies (PRIME) services in rural communities can have more of the medicines needed for emergencies, funded and available. Lead maternity carers can access intravenous tranexamic acid, and ketamine is easier to access for palliative care.
These vital medicines can be ordered on a practitioners' supply order (PSO) so that they can be on-hand when needed.
The following treatments are available on PSO:
Droperidol inj 2.5 mg per ml (1 ml ampoule)
Glucose inj 5% (100 ml bag)
Glucose inj 10% (500 ml bag)
Ketamine inj 100 mg per ml (2 ml vial)
Methoxyflurane solution for inhalation 99.9% (3 ml bottle and plastic inhaler, and 3 ml bottles)
Prescribers no longer need to apply for a NPPA to access ketamine for intractable pain in palliative care. Prescribers can have ketamine on hand by ordering it on PSO, BSO, or providing an individual prescription.
Intractable pain in palliative care is not an approved indication for ketamine. Because of this, you must meet requirements of section 25 of the Medicines Act when prescribing and administering it.
The Australia New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) and Hospice NZ have developed guidance for using ketamine for intractable pain for people receiving palliative care. These documents are intended for professionals working in specialist palliative care in New Zealand only.
