Canada Health Infoway and Loblaw Companies Limited Reach Agreement to Advance e-Prescribing

August 18, 2020 (TORONTO) — Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) and Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement to advance e-prescribing in Canada.

Under the agreement, Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw retail pharmacies and QHR Technologies’ AccuroEMR^®, Canada’s largest single electronic medical record platform, will work towards connecting with PrescribeIT^®, Infoway’s national e-prescribing service.

As a first step in the initiative, Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw will begin to roll out PrescribeIT^® in pharmacies already using software that is integrated with PrescribeIT^®.

“This agreement will accelerate the adoption of e-prescribing in Canada, bringing significant benefits to patients, prescribers and health care systems across the country,” said Ashesh Desai, Executive Vice President Pharmacy and Healthcare Businesses at Shoppers Drug Mart.

“PrescribeIT^® has shown tremendous momentum since it launched,” said Michael Green, President and CEO of Infoway. “This is an important expansion for PrescribeIT^® and will help extend the benefits of the service more broadly.”

Loblaw will continue to operate FreedomRx, the e-prescribing and messaging platform that is currently available predominantly to Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies and physicians using AccuroEMR^® as their electronic medical records system.

About Canada Health Infoway

Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians. Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government. Visit www.infoway-inforoute.ca.

About PrescribeIT®

Canada Health Infoway is working with Health Canada, the provinces and territories, and industry stakeholders to develop, operate and maintain the national e-prescribing service known as PrescribeIT^®. PrescribeIT^® will serve all Canadians, pharmacies and prescribers and provide safer and more effective medication management by enabling prescribers to transmit a prescription electronically between a prescriber’s electronic medical record (EMR) and the pharmacy management system (PMS) of a patient’s pharmacy of choice. PrescribeIT^® will protect Canadians’ personal health information from being sold or used for commercial activities. Visit www.PrescribeIT.ca.

About Loblaw Companies Limited

Loblaw is Canada's food and pharmacy leader, and the nation's largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,400 corporate, franchised and Associate owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and associate-owners employ approximately 200,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers.

Loblaw's purpose – Live Life Well^® – puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company's stores. Loblaw is positioned to meet and exceed those needs in many ways: convenient locations; more than 1,050 grocery stores that span the value spectrum from discount to specialty; full-service pharmacies at nearly 1,400 Shoppers Drug Mart^® and Pharmaprix^® locations and close to 500 Loblaw locations; PC Financial^® services; affordable Joe Fresh^® fashion and family apparel; and three of Canada's top-consumer brands in Life Brand, no name^® and President's Choice. For more information, visit Loblaw's website at www.loblaw.ca.