Buying an adrenaline injector FAQ

The first PBS authority prescription needs to be provided by or in consultation with an allergy specialist, respiratory physician or a paediatrician. 

An initial PBS prescription may also be prescribed after you have been discharged from hospital or an emergency department after treatment with adrenaline for anaphylaxis.

A doctor (including a GP) or nurse practitioner can write follow-up prescriptions. The doctor/nurse practitioner will need to get an authority from Services Australia every time. You can only purchase two in-date adrenaline injectors through the PBS on authority prescription at any one time.

If you use one or both of your devices you can replace them with another two devices using an authority prescription, even if it has only been a short time since your last adrenaline injector authority prescription.

Your doctor/nurse practitioner should provide an ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (red in colour) with every prescription for an adrenaline injector, even if your trigger allergens have not changed.

ASCIA Action Plans can be printed from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) website – click here to download.

The ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis is regularly updated with best practice emergency treatment advice for anaphylaxis.

NOTE: Adrenaline injectors are not usually prescribed for people with medication allergies even if they have had a previous anaphylaxis. This is because medications are much easier to avoid than food or insects for example.

You need to take your authority prescription to a pharmacy, and you will be given two adrenaline injectors.

The total cost for the two adrenaline injectors will be the cost of a single prescription.

Pharmacists can substitute one adrenaline injector for another if the “brand substitution is not permitted” box is not ticked or your prescription is for an Anapen junior or Anapen 300 (these devices are no longer available in Australia).

The pharmacist should:

• ask for your permission to do this
• show you how to use the adrenaline injector – instructions for using Anapen® and EpiPen® are different

It is important that you have an ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis that matches your adrenaline injector. 

If you do not have an Action Plan for Anaphylaxis that matches your adrenaline injector then you will need to go back to your doctor and get the matching Action Plan. 

Your doctor/nurse practitioner will prescribe the correct dose adrenaline injector based on the person’s weight.

Dose recommendations are also written on the ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis so they are easy to find in an emergency.

The type of adrenaline injector prescribed is based on a medical decision by the doctor as well as the patient/carer preference. Considerations may include the weight of the patient, history of anaphylaxis and the training on a new device.  

It is very important that you know how to use the type of device prescribed, especially if it is different to one you have used in the past.

Brands and doses of adrenaline injectors

There are two different brands of adrenaline injector available in Australia – Anapen® and EpiPen®.

The dose of the adrenaline injector is worked out by weight. Weight guidelines for adrenaline injectors can also be found on the bottom left-hand corner of ASCIA Action Plans.

For information on ordering Anapen® stock, the pharmacy should contact the distributor (Arrotex) on 1800 195 055.

For information on ordering EpiPen® stock, the pharmacy should contact the distributor (Viatris) on 1800 931 625.

If they are unsuccessful, please ask the pharmacy to call Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia on 1300 728 000.

Your adrenaline injector expires at the end of the month indicated on the device.

You should allow enough time to make an appointment to see your doctor/nurse practitioner for a PBS authority prescription and to take the prescription to your pharmacy.

Remember that the pharmacy may not have the adrenaline injector in stock and may need to order it in which may take a couple of days.

It is best to start the process of getting a prescription in the middle of the month the adrenaline injector expires in case there are any delays.

You will be able to purchase the two adrenaline injectors on a PBS authority prescription for the Health Care Card prescription price.

There is no discount on over-the-counter devices bought without a PBS authority prescription.

Adrenaline injectors can be purchased over the counter from any pharmacy. The cost will be around $80 to $120.

There is no government subsidy unless adrenaline injectors are prescribed to a specific individual on authority prescription.

Organisations that purchase an adrenaline injector for general use should keep an ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis (orange in colour) with the device.

ASCIA Action Plans can be printed from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) website – click here to download.

ASCIA has information on adrenaline injectors for general use.

Some private health insurance funds will cover part of the cost of adrenaline injectors purchased on a general prescription (not a PBS authority prescription).

Check with your private health fund whether you can get a rebate with your level of private health cover and if you need a a general prescription or if they offer rebates for adrenaline injectors purchased over the counter.

You will need to get a signed receipt from your pharmacist. You will need this receipt to make a private health insurance claim if you are entitled to it.

Yes, they can be bought over the counter from any pharmacy.

An adrenaline injector purchased over the counter without a prescription will cost around $80 to $120.

You must replace your adrenaline injector if:

• you have used it
• it has been fired/triggered by accident
• it is about to expire or
• the liquid within the device becomes cloudy/discoloured or has floating particles.

NOTE: If you have used an adrenaline injector you should replace it immediately. You should always have at least one in-date adrenaline injector with you at all times.

Check with the pharmacy. If they have adrenaline injectors with an expiry date of less than ten months, you can consider asking them to order you an adrenaline injector with a longer expiry date.

You may have to wait a couple of days for the order to arrive at the pharmacy, so do not leave it until the last minute to renew your adrenaline injector prescription.

You may also like to phone a few pharmacies in your area to see which pharmacy has adrenaline injectors with the longest expiry dates.

On rare occasions adrenaline injectors may not be available with expiry dates of more than ten months. If this occurs, it is better to accept an in-date adrenaline injector even if the expiry date is short.

If you purchase a device that has an expiry date less than 12 months, you can replace the devices through the PBS on authority prescription when they are due to expire.