A pair of Ontario family doctors say they'll have to go back to sending patient prescriptions to pharmacies by fax because a federally funded agency is doing away with an efficient electronic system, with no clear plans for its replacement.

The software allows doctors to instantly send drug prescriptions to pharmacies and approve prescription renewal requests with a click of a mouse. The system brings up the renewal request in an electronic prompt attached to each patient's health record.

It's a crucial tool because Bolzon said he receives up to 35 prescription renewal requests in a typical day while also handling about 30 daily in-person appointments.

So if PrescribeIT is helping doctors manage their patient loads and there's no clear replacement in place, why pull the plug?

In a statement to CBC News, Canada Health Infoway said they worked with governments and system providers to keep PrescribeIT operating. However, the statement said there was no shared funding model and "no viable model emerged that would support the continued operation of a single national service over the long term."

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[–] grey_maniac@lemmy.ca 2 points 35 minutes ago (1 children)

I didn't see anything in the article, so can anyone tell me if it happened to also feed data to the current crop of greedy info-vampires? Who developed it and what network and data systems it fed through? I know it was "the government" and I also know that usually means an outside vendor developed it under an RFP.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 minutes ago

Telus Health, so yes, but at least it was a Canadian Data vampire?

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 hours ago

We're dealing with a healthcare crisis. It doesn't make sense for Carney's governments to stop funding a program that is working. It might make sense if there was a replacement, but there isn't.

The statement said the goal is to create a publicly available national standard for electronic prescribing and that the standard "will be made publicly available" on May 1, just 28 days before PrescribeIT is shut down. The statement said this will allow other vendors to adopt that standard.

...

"Doctors who are already dealing with an insane amount of administration and bureaucracy had welcomed this alternative to it, and now, with very little notice and no communication, they're being told they're going to lose that."

[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Allow me to provide some context that's glaringly missing from the article. There was a major under-adoption issue that was a factor in the scrapping of this program. This identifies a new target for intervention: incentivizing primary care offices to get off fax so that we can successfully roll out a more efficient electronic systems like this.

Doctors are still faxing prescriptions in 2026. Ottawa’s $250-million program to change that was just shut down

Despite the number of providers on board, use of the service has remained low. Less than 5 per cent of prescriptions are sent electronically in Canada each year, according to reports from Canada Health Infoway and Telus Health.

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

How about we have an in-house system? Or mandate the provinces set something up.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The feds can't force the provinces to do anything. The Constitution is clear on that.

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

The feds effectively encouraged the provinces to join pharmacare, $10/day daycare, etc.

If the feds want the provinces to do something, they have enough carrots and sticks to make it happen.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

The exclusive powers of Provincial legislatures, enumerated in ss. 92, 92(A) and 93 of the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, concern matters of a local nature (also see notes). They include the following:

Direct Taxation within Province
Management/Sale of Public Lands belonging to Province
Prisons
Hospitals
Municipalities
Formalization of Marriage
Property and Civil Rights
Administration of Civil/Criminal Justice
Education
Incorporation of Companies
Natural Resources
Matters of a merely local or private nature

https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs/services/federation/distribution-legislative-powers.html

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 25 minutes ago

No one is saying that the provinces don't have the final say, but the fed has tools to encourage provinces to come to a mutually beneficial decision. The whole point of being a country is we work together on solutions that work for all of us, not for provinces to scream bloody murder every time someone tries to improve things. We're not all Alberta.

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

They even got (most) provinces onside with the carbon tax. It's amazing what offering a little cash can do.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Druggie yet again proving he's an absolute useless cunt.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

a federally funded agency is doing away with an efficient electronic system, with no clear plans for its replacement.

What am I missing?

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Because Druggie could just as easily announced his gov't would pick up the funding requirements. But he didn't ... because he probably expects the feds to do it.

Maybe ask him what he did with extra millions JT gave Ontario shortly before he left office.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Maybe ask him what he did with extra millions JT gave Ontario shortly before he left office.

I'm sure he used it to try to bribe a foreign company into setting up a factory or similar facility in Ontario, because that's worked out so well for us in the past. Or on ads meant to toot his own horn, whichever.