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.”
How about we have an in-house system? Or mandate the provinces set something up.
The feds can’t force the provinces to do anything. The Constitution is clear on that.
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.
https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs/services/federation/distribution-legislative-powers.html
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.
They even got (most) provinces onside with the carbon tax. It’s amazing what offering a little cash can do.