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winter 2008 |
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Online Only
H E A L T H T E C H N O
L O G Y
Physician
access, use of Pharmacy Network
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Stock Photo |
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The Pharmacy Network is a
provincial drug information system and a component of the Newfoundland
and Labrador Electronic Health Record (EHR).
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Submitted Article |
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The Pharmacy Network is a provincial
drug information system and a component of the Newfoundland and
Labrador Electronic Health Record (EHR). The Pharmacy Network will
provide vital clinical information necessary for the appropriate and
timely care of patients and will connect physicians, pharmacists,
nurses and other authorized health professionals within the circle
of care with comprehensive electronic medication profiles for their
patients. It will also hold comprehensive drug information and
create an interactive database that will assist health professionals
in identifying potential adverse drug interactions and events.
In 2009, community pharmacies, the focus
of the first phase of the project, will be connected to the Pharmacy
Network. Physicians and nurse practitioners will be connected in future
phases of the project, expected to begin in 2010. We anticipate that
physicians will initially access the Pharmacy Network through the Care
Provider Portal. This clinical portal is capable of sharing medical
information with a wide variety of health professionals and institutions
using industry standards. The Care Provider Portal is a tool to access
the Pharmacy Network for physicians that are not currently practicing
with an Electronic Medical Record (EMR). The NLMA, the Department of
Health and Community Services and the Centre for Health Information are
currently in discussions around EMRs for physicians that will be able to
link directly to the Pharmacy Network. The Care Provider Portal is
intended to improve clinician communications, patient safety and quality
of care, improve operational efficiencies, and help clinicians make more
informed decisions.
The Portal is a web-based application that will
allow clinicians who adopt its use to access medication profiles over a
secure Internet connection.. Physicians and other clinicians who
prescribe will be able to electronically prescribe through the Care
Provider Portal. E-prescribing involves entering prescriptions
electronically into the Pharmacy Network at the point of care, which
will allow pharmacists and other members within the circle of care
immediate access to patient information. While the Centre anticipates
that e-prescription capabilities will be in place sometime in 2010,
physicians may still use handwritten prescriptions for the foreseeable
future.
Current planning has the Pharmacy Network
deployed by geographic regions based on the province’s four Regional
Health Authorities. Education sessions will provide information on the
specific impact of the Pharmacy Network on current practices and will be
held for physicians before the Pharmacy Network is available in their
region. Training specific to the Care Provider Portal will also be
offered. The sessions will, for the most part, be face-to-face meetings,
but may also be offered online and will commence approximately nine to12
months prior to deployment of the Care Provider Portal.
Access to the Pharmacy Network will
eventually be given to all authorized health professionals and their
delegates who prescribe, dispense, update and view medications to
support better informed decisions about patients’ care.
For more information on the Pharmacy
Network or the Electronic Health Record, visit the
Centre’s web site
at or contact Margot Priddle or
(709) 752-6059.
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