Pharmaceutical Information Program

The Pharmaceutical Information Program aims to:

• Provide the best patient care by reducing drug therapy and transcription errors;
• Improve continuity of care by improving the accuracy and timeliness of drug dispensing history information across all points of care;
• Ensure patient confidentiality;
• Support appropriate drug therapy while minimizing costs; and
• Improve the operations and professional capabilities of health providers.

Prescription information is collected under the authority of The Prescription Drugs Act, and includes:

• Your Health Services Number or other identifying number;
• Certain information about your prescription, including the date dispensed, the drug, the quantity of drug, the prescriber and the pharmacy.
• Your name, address, phone number and date of birth.

Your personal health information is confidential and only authorized health care providers involved in your care will access it.

Saskatchewan Health takes great care to protect the personal health information under its control. Information is kept in strict confidence, and is used or disclosed as authorized or required by law.

The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) provides the rules for the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal health information, and safeguards are in place to ensure patient confidentiality.

To obtain a copy of, or to correct the information contained within, your prescription information:

• A patient can request a copy of his or her own medication profile from an authorized health care provider (e.g. pharmacist) or from the Ministry of Health.
• A patient may request an amendment to his or her own medication profile by writing to the Ministry of Health. The Drug Plan will contact the appropriate users to determine if it is appropriate to make the amendment. If the amendment can be made, it will be made without deleting any original information. If the amendment cannot be made a notation will be included identifying that the patient requested the amendment. The patient will be notified about whether or not an amendment or notation was made.

We recognize that some people may not be comfortable with the electronic sharing of their personal health information.

You can choose a masking option (request that prescription information be hidden from view) by calling 1-855-347-5465 for more information or completing the downloadable Request to Mask form.

When authorized health care providers log into the PIP application and select a masked record, the health care provider will be prevented from seeing any drug profile information, except in three circumstances:

• With consent: At any time, you may give your health care provider (such as your physician or pharmacist) consent to view your masked medication profile. This authorization can be time-limited (such as a specified number of days or months) or indefinite.
• In an emergency, when the person is unable to provide consent: This would allow a health care provider to access the history in an emergency, such as if the person is unconscious or unable to provide consent due to their illness. The information could be life-saving in these circumstances.
• dispensing one of these drugs, because there is potential for harm if these drugs are used inappropriately.