For patients, prescribers and pharmacists, a digital option is superior to a paper one.
We live in a digital world, and in recent years, it has expanded to include prescriptions at an increasing rate. Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) is helping to lead the way in transforming health care through innovative digital solutions that increase patients’ ability to access health services and receive the medications they need.
One such solution is PrescribeIT®, a national e-prescribing service launched by Infoway in collaboration with Health Canada. In a short time, it has changed the way Canadians get their medications. It allows prescribers to electronically transmit a prescription directly from an electronic medical record to the pharmacy management system of a patient’s pharmacy of choice. It’s a safer and more secure way to handle medications by enabling the digital transmission of prescriptions.
Benefits patients and health care professionals
The system is recognized by both patients and prescribers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists, as a better option. Recent data shows that 83 per cent of Canadians prefer having a prescription sent directly to their pharmacy without receiving a paper prescription. Meanwhile, prescribers said that PrescribeIT® reduces paperwork (83 percent) and allows them to provide more efficient care (83 per cent).
Pharmacists also feel more confident with a digital medication system, saying it reduces stolen or fraudulent prescriptions and it improves legibility and completeness. Consider this: pharmacists dispense about 750 million prescriptions each year, according to the Canadian Pharmacists Association. It emphasizes the importance of PrescribeIT® and how Infoway is making a positive impact in how Canadians manage medications more efficiently. To date, the digital system has successfully handled tens of millions of prescriptions.
To learn more, visit PrescribeIT.ca.
