Thank you, Madam Chair. Currently the Pharmacy Act is subject to the privacy and information sharing rules under the act, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and ATIPP doesn’t currently allow for sharing of information for secondary use, and because ATIPP prevails, a prescription monitoring program could not be established under the legislation that we have today. But we heard clearly from Members that this is something that’s important, it’s something we needed to do. The new Health
Information Act would have actually allowed us to do this exact thing, but it doesn’t go live until 2015 and prescription drug abuse is something that’s a problem today.
So we felt it was important, based on suggestions and discussions with Members, that we move on this as quickly as we can so that we can begin developing a prescription monitoring program. This legislation simply changes the rules around that particular aspect and gives us the freedom to actually develop a prescription monitoring program that would not breach the different acts that are out there.
So the prescription monitoring program itself will be done and put together by a steering committee that has been developed in the department led by Dr. Corkal and it will engage pharmacists, it will engage other providers who are currently involved in providing prescriptions as well as dispensing medications. We will use different pieces of legislation to ensure that the information is not shared and the rules around the program itself, we’ll make sure that information is not shared beyond the individuals who actually need to access the information. That will include a new position that will be created, a program administrator as well.
So the information will continue to be private and protected and only identified and useable by the individuals who are involved in prescription monitoring program. For some additional details I’d like to go to Dr. Corkal.