PrescribeIT was launched in 2017 as part of federal 'axe the fax' initiatives to replace fax machines with digital alternatives.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Federally funded non-profit Canada Health Infoway has missed a deadline to turn over all the internal documents, including contracts with Telus Health, requested by a parliamentary committee investigating the failed $300-million PrescribeIT digital prescription program.
Four Conservative MPs on the House of Commons health committee sent a letter to Infoway’s board chair, Peter Vaughan, on Wednesday urging the organization to turn over the outstanding papers.
“It is unacceptable for Canada Health Infoway to accept billions in taxpayer funding, pay its CEO nearly $900,000 a year, oversee a failed $300-million program, and then withhold documents ordered by a parliamentary committee,” the letter signed by MPs Dan Mazier, Burton Bailey, Helena Konanz and Matt Strauss stated.
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Infoway said in an unsigned statement to The Globe and Mail that the organization supplied the majority of the documents on time, but the remainder of the requests cover a “broad range of historical records” that could run into hundreds of thousands of pages.
The non-profit remains committed to complying with the committee’s orders, the statement added.
Canada Health Infoway launched PrescribeIT in 2017 as part of federal “axe the fax” initiatives to replace fax machines with digital alternatives. The program was shut down in most of the country last week.
The House of Commons health committee has been probing PrescribeIT and its federal funding since The Globe and Mail revealed problems with the program, such as the fact that fewer than 5 per cent of prescriptions flowed through it.
Infoway’s long-time chief executive officer, Michael Green, was dismissed by the non-profit’s board in April shortly after his appearance at the committee frustrated members of Parliament because of a lack of answers.
On April 28, the committee unanimously agreed to a motion ordering Infoway to produce a number of documents about PrescribeIT within two weeks.
But as of Wednesday, more than five weeks later, the non-profit has sent the committee only some of the documents it requested.
The Conservatives told The Globe that Canada Health Infoway has so far produced the total annual compensation for Mr. Green since 2021, total expenses broken down by year, more detailed expenses for Mr. Green, board minutes and change orders sent to Telus Health.
Telus Health has told the committee it earned $98-million from PrescribeIT as the primary technology vendor.
The Conservatives say Canada Health Infoway has not produced: agreements and contracts with Telus Health, contracts and invoices with other vendors, annual spending on consultants, and some board documents.
The chair of the committee, Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, said through a spokesperson that he isn’t in a position to take any action because the committee has not yet made a formal decision regarding the outstanding documents.
The documents that have been sent are marked confidential and the committee has not released them publicly.
MPs on the committee also voted unanimously on April 28 to request the Auditor-General of Canada to audit PrescribeIT.
The Auditor-General is an independent officer of Parliament and considers such requests in the context of other planned work and available resources. The office of the Auditor-General said Wednesday it hasn’t decided yet whether it will do an audit.
In an official response to written questions from Dr. Strauss, Health Canada released data on Monday that showed fewer than one-third of the prescribers who signed up for PrescribeIT were actually using it.
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There were 26,233 prescribers registered to use the platform as of the end of April, yet only 7,214 – or 27 per cent of enrollees – sent one or more prescriptions over PrescribeIT in March, according to data Canada Health Infoway provided the federal department.
The written answer doesn’t say how prescription traffic in March compared with past months, or whether usage was affected by Infoway announcing in February that the platform would cease operating at the end of May.
PrescribeIT was falling short of some other recent targets, according to the written response.
For example, one of Infoway’s goals in 2024-25 was to enroll 7,000 prescribers and 1,200 pharmacies. But it enrolled just 2,693 prescribers and 569 pharmacies that year.
Infoway did, however, meet some of its objectives, including securing an agreement to expand PrescribeIT to 1,900 pharmacies in Quebec in 2027-28 before Infoway’s board voted to kill the platform.
PrescribeIT ceased most of its operations across the country at the end of May.
However, the federal and Quebec governments agreed last month to extend a PrescribeIT pilot project in the Eastern Townships for three months. Quebec Health Minister Sonia Bélanger said at the time that she hoped discussions with the federal government could extend the program long term.