A new agreement between Cowichan Tribes-owned Mustimuhw Information Solutions and e-prescription service PrescribeIT will help improve the health and safety of First Nations patients across Canada, the partners say.
Specially designed to serve First Nations, Mustimuhw provides technology solutions for Indigenous health, child and family services, and patient access in nearly 300 communities across seven provinces. Its upcoming integration of PrescribeIT will allow clients to benefit from safe, electronically transmitted prescrictions and care.
“PrescribeIT will help improve collaboration between prescribers and pharmacists,” Mustimuhw CEO Mark Sommerfeld said. “PrescribeIT will enable appropriate health care practitioners to communicate with pharmacists directly through their cEMR [Community Electronic Medical Record], saving time and improving safety.”
The partnership will improve core functionality, Sommerfeld related, by connecting community-based medical practices to community pharmacies with secure messaging and direct digital communication between physicians and pharmacists. PrescribeIT is built on standardized technology and designed to prevent fraud and abuse while improving accuracy.
The partnership is particularly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic because virtual care is so important at this time. Doctors are not only able to consult with patients online, but they can also use PrescribeIT to do e-prescribing.
“All these factors and functionalities resonate with current events,” Sommerfeld said.
According to Perry Kjargaard, senior regional account director, Mid-West for PrescribeIT developer Canada Health Infoway, PrescribeIT moves Mustimuhw “into the current time frame, where prescriptions move electronically.” PrescribeIT has been functioning for a couple of years already, he said, and is live in several provinces. It will be close to a year before the partnership with Mustimuhw is fully operational.