ePrescribing

ePrescribing connects patients, pharmacists and prescribers, resulting in more efficient prescribing.

By the Numbers

83%
of Canadians are interested in having a prescription sent directly to their pharmacy without receiving a paper prescription.
77%
of Canadians say that they are interested in electronic prescription renewal requests.
73%
of Canadians say that they support mandatory electronic prescribing of controlled substances, such as opioids, in Canada.

Improving Collaboration

ePrescribing enables prescribers and pharmacists to transmit prescriptions electronically and to communicate seamlessly. In practice, this means prescribers can electronically transmit a prescription directly from an electronic medical record (EMR) to the pharmacy management system (PMS) of a patient’s pharmacy of choice.

ePrescribing Benefits

ePrescribing offers a range of benefits for prescribers, pharmacists, patients and the health system as a whole:

  • Reduces the use of paper prescriptions
  • Enhances patient safety and reduces fraud
  • Optimizes jurisdictional drug information system investments
  • Decreases administrative load
  • Frees up more time for patient care and consultations
  • Facilitates better health outcomes for Canadians

Safer Prescribing Practices

As the opioid crisis continues, it’s important to keep Canadians safe while ensuring their access to needed medication for pain management. ePrescribing transmits prescription data directly from a prescriber’s electronic medical record to a pharmacy management system, preventing fraudulent, lost and misused prescriptions.

In addition, ePrescribing enables clinicians to prescribe opioids and other controlled medications in smaller quantities, knowing that more can be prescribed remotely if needed. This reduces the number of surplus opioids in medicine cabinets across the country that could be stolen or diverted.