The Georgian Bay Family Health Team has received provincial funding to work with local area retail pharmacies to try out electronic prescriptions.
"This initiative is testing the viability of allowing prescriptions to be sent over encrypted internet lines from GBFHT Physicians' offices directly to participating area pharmacies," spokesperson Marie Larose said.
Family doctor Dr. James Lane, the IT Physician Lead for the GBFHT, said "electronic prescribing will save both time and lives."
Collingwood is one of two sites testing the e-prescriptions.
Larose said Dr. Lane has been "working closely with Glen Thompson, from Watson's Guardian pharmacy in Stayner."
"Thompson has been instrumental in getting 100 per cent participation in the e prescribe project," she said.
According to e-Health Ontario, "Electronic prescribing of medications has demonstrated improved patient safety through reduction of medication errors and adverse drug reactions."
Larose said the process will work in the following manner;
"A patient goes to see his or her family physician, and if a medication is to be prescribed, instead of the physician handing the patient a piece of paper with the prescription, the physician will send an electronic prescription to the patient's pharmacy of choice. The pharmacist receives a secure, encrypted message advising that a prescription has been received, then checks the patient's Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for possible contraindications, allergies and ensures that the medication is the most effective available for the condition indicated by the physician. The script is then filled and waiting when the patient arrives at the pharmacy."
Seventeen pharmacies in Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, The Blue Mountains, and Clearview (including Stayner, Nottawa, Duntroon and Creemore) are taking part, along with 24 family physicians and four nurse-practitioners from the Georgian Bay Family Health Team.
"The GBFHT, and all patients in the Georgian Bay area owe a huge debt to Dr. Lane who has been instrumental in the development of the centralized database and the creating of the e-Prescribing Project. We are on the cutting-edge of healthcare data management thanks to Dr. Lane's extraordinary efforts" said Dr. Sohail Gandhi, Chair of the GBFHT's Board of Directors.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Shawn Gilick
Quelle/Source: The Enterprise Bulletin, 15.05.2009
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