Table of Contents
LANGLEY, British Columbia — Two Pharmasave stores in Lethbridge are the first pharmacies in Alberta to participate in PrescribeIT, Canada’s recently launched electronic prescription platform.
PrescribeIT allows prescribers to securely transmit a prescription from an electronic medical record (EMR) to the pharmacy management system at a patient’s pharmacy of choice. The platform was developed by Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded, nonprofit digital health organization overseeing the rollout of the system.
Pharmasave said it’s the only drug store banner in Canada to launch PrescribeIT in two provinces. Besides the Alberta stores, Pharmasave has four pharmacies in Ontario participating in the e-prescribing service. More locations will adopt the platform going forward, according to Pharmasave, a pharmacy cooperative with more than 640 stores across Canada.
“As the evolution of pharmacy practice in Canada continues to present new opportunities for pharmacy services, Pharmasave is poised to serve customers better than ever before,” Allison Nourse, national director of pharmacy innovation at Pharmasave, said in a statement.
PrescribeIT said Pharmasave and Family Medical Centre were the first in the Lethbridge community to begin using the platform, followed by Woods Dispensary, Legacy Medical Centre and London Drugs. In the coming weeks, the service is slated to go live at Pharmachoice members Skelton Pharmacy, Stokes Pharmacy and Chinook Rx, as well as at Save-On-Foods Pharmacies.
“We’re thrilled that Pharmasave is embracing PrescribeIT, and we look forward to seeing it continue momentum as it rolls out to additional communities across the country,” stated Michael Green, president and chief executive officer of Canada Health Infoway.
Currently, PrescribeIT is working with six provinces — Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland–Labrador — and 27 community pharmacy companies, representing more than 3,400 pharmacies. The service launched in late August in Huntsville, Ontario, and has expanded to Kingston and the Niagara region. This year, plans call for PrescribeIT to launch in more communities in Ontario and Alberta as well as in other provinces and territories.
