#e-prescribe

The traditional method for obtaining the medical document is receiving the prescription via snail mail, and phoning the physician endlessly until you are able to reach them, only to find out a patient attempted to add another “0″ to the end of the prescription making it “300″ grams rather than “30″ grams.

Thankfully, technology has brought us into a new age of automation, allowing us to transfer data quickly. Specific provinces allow for physicians to submit the original medical document electronically (which makes our lives A LOT easier)

To do this, the LP first needs to co-ordinate with the physician and verify that the province where the physician resides allows for electronic medical documents (refer to the provincial professional licensing authority). Without this, the physician is not allowed to submit an electronic version of the prescription.

It is indeed the responsibility of the LP to ensure that the electronic system used follows these guidelines:

All transactions are secure and protected

All data go through security checks before being processed

Persons submitting information are authenticated

Persons accessing information are authenticated and recorded

Full traceability

Retention of data, and ability to generate reports on demand

Follows PIPEDA guidelines and rules for how public sector organizations collect personal information

Of course, a verification is still required for each medical document. The ability to use e-prescribing speeds up the process significantly, making obtaining the medical document a smoother and more efficient process.