Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Michael Green. I'm the president and CEO of Canada Health Infoway.
I would like to acknowledge that the land now known as Canada is the traditional territory of the first nations, Inuit and Métis people, who have lived here since time immemorial, and I recognize their enduring presence from coast to coast to coast in the spirit of reconciliation.
Thank you for inviting me to appear today on behalf of Canada Health Infoway. As an independent, federally funded, not-for-profit organization, Canada Health Infoway has worked in partnership with successive federal, provincial and territorial governments to advance digital health and connected care across Canada since 2001.
Our approach is collaborative by design. Major national initiatives and mandates are not directed by a single organization acting alone. They are shaped through collaboration with jurisdictions and partners and with oversight by our board of directors, which is governed by representatives from the federal, provincial and territorial deputy ministers of health and Health Canada.
Our work is guided by a clear objective to help ensure that patients and their care teams can access the right health information securely, efficiently and when it is needed. Our role is to help build a shared digital foundation to support safer and more connected care for patients across the country.
PrescribeIT was launched as part of the broader effort to modernize how health information moves through the health care system. It was supported over time by successive federal governments and developed in collaboration with provinces, territories, clinicians, pharmacies and technology partners. Its purpose was clear: to establish a safer, more secure and more modern approach to e-prescribing in Canada.
Through PrescribeIT, Canada Health Infoway helped build a national technical foundation for e-prescribing that did not previously exist. We achieved technical readiness across 95% of pharmacies and vendors. We established common workflows, strengthened digital trust and advanced the standards and infrastructure needed to support secure prescription exchange at scale.
This work created a significant pan-Canadian asset, one that improved the system's readiness for interoperable e-prescribing and reduced future implementation effort for governments, vendors and care providers.
Through the process, provinces and territories expressed differing needs and approaches for how e-prescribing should continue to develop. As Canada Health Infoway and our partners looked to the future, it became clear that the next phase needed to build on the foundation in a way that is more flexible, scalable and aligned with the realities of Canada's diverse health systems. This is why the work is now transitioning to a national e-prescribing standard.
In this context, Canada Health Infoway's board supported the transition to a standards-based approach. The decision was informed by extensive engagement with partners and focused on responsible stewardship of the work completed to date. The transition is an evolution for a centrally operated service model towards a standards-based, jurisdiction-led approach. It allows provinces, territories and vendors to advance e-prescribing in ways that align with local priorities, local needs and readiness.
The technical, clinical and standards-based progress achieved through PrescribeIT continues to support the system. The objective is to preserve the value of the work as we undertake an orderly transition to an open standards model. A publicly available national standard supports patient safety and care by enabling consistent, secure and reliable exchange of prescription information across systems, vendors and care settings.
At Canada Health Infoway, our role is to work with governments and system partners to build shared digital health foundations that improve safety, reduce fragmentation and support better care. This is what PrescribeIT was designed to do, and this is the foundation that the work has helped establish.
In summary, connected care requires common standards, trusted infrastructure, system alignment and collaboration across jurisdictions. Canada Health Infoway's work on PrescribeIT has helped move Canada further on that path and has informed the next stage of national e-prescribing in a practical and responsible way.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.
