PrescribeIT® enables prescribers to send prescriptions and renewals electronically to a patient’s pharmacy of choice, resulting in more efficient patient care, enhanced safety and improved communication between clinicians.
Infoway has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for PrescribeIT® with all 13 provinces and territories, is operating the service in five of them, and is working collaboratively with the others to develop roll-out plans.
“This is a major milestone and I want to thank all of our jurisdictional partners for continuing to work closely with us to expand the service where it is already live and develop thoughtful plans to launch it in the others,” said Jamie Bruce, Executive Vice President, Infoway. “All of the provinces and territories share our goal of eliminating paper prescriptions, improving patient safety and improving communication between clinicians through PrescribeIT®.”
As of early October, PrescribeIT® was live in 550 communities, with more than 8,000 prescribers, 5,800 pharmacy sites and 2,900 clinics enrolled, and total transactions up 250 per cent over the past 12 months. Transaction volume is expected to grow dramatically with the announcement in late September that PrescribeIT® is live in more than 850 Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw pharmacies in Ontario and New Brunswick.
In addition to these locations, PrescribeIT® is also enabled in more than 130 OnPharm-United pharmacies in Ontario and discussions are progressing with other large retailers. An interactive locator map lists all live clinics and pharmacies.
Infoway recently released PrescribeIT V5, with improvements to functionality driven by customer feedback, to help drive prescriber adoption and efficiency while maintaining patient safety. Infoway is now working with our electronic medical record (EMR) and pharmacy management system (PMS) vendor partners to implement the features of this release.
One new vendor has signed on to the service — Propel Rx PMS — for a total of eight PMS and 17 EMR vendors now on board. In addition, CIS EMR and IndiviCare EMR have conformed to PrescribeIT®, while HealthWATCH PMS has conformed and launched in Ontario and New Brunswick, and Profile EMR is expanding throughout New Brunswick.
“All of this progress is a great indication that PrescribeIT® is providing tremendous value to prescribers, pharmacies and patients across the country,” Bruce said. “We look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners — the jurisdictions, technology vendors, retailers and prescribers — to ensure that our PrescribeIT® e-prescribing service is available to all Canadians.”
About Canada Health Infoway
At Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) we believe a more connected and collaborative system is a healthier system, and we work with governments, health care organizations, clinicians and patients to make health care more digital. We’re working to ensure that everyone is able to access their personal health information, book appointments, get prescriptions, view lab test results and access other health services, online. We’re working with our partners to transform the health system because we know that digital in health can be as transformative as digital has been in other aspects of our lives. We’re an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government. Visit us online at www.infoway-inforoute.ca.
About PrescribeIT®
Canada Health Infoway is working with Health Canada, the provinces and territories, and industry stakeholders to develop, operate and maintain the national e-prescribing service known as PrescribeIT®. PrescribeIT® will serve all Canadians, pharmacies and prescribers and provide safer and more effective medication management by enabling prescribers to transmit a prescription electronically between a prescriber’s electronic medical record (EMR) and the pharmacy management system (PMS) of a patient’s pharmacy of choice. PrescribeIT® will protect Canadians’ personal health information from being sold or used for commercial activities. Visit www.PrescribeIT.ca.
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Haley Armstrong
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Canada Health Infoway
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Inquiries about PrescribeIT®
Catherine Searles-Burke
Senior Manager, Marketing, PrescribeIT®
Canada Health Infoway
416.833.5152
Follow @PrescribeIT_CA