Health Care Provider Access to Drug and Pharmacy Service Information
Notice to Ontarians Receiving Drugs and Pharmacy Services
This notice is to inform you that the Ministry of Health (ministry) is continuing to make improvements to the way your doctor and other health care providers can share information with each other, in order to deliver better care.
Is this notice for me?
This notice is for people who receive any of the following:
- Publicly funded drugs (For example, seniors, children and youth aged 24 years and under, Trillium Drug Program recipients and Ontarians receiving COVID -19 vaccines)
- Monitored drugs (narcotics and controlled substances); or
- Publicly funded pharmacy services (For example, MedsCheck Program, Pharmacy Smoking Cessation Program, or pharmacy flu vaccine administration)
The ministry will provide access to information about the publicly funded drugs and pharmacy services and all monitored drugs you receive to your health care providers (e.g. physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists who are directly involved with your care). Access to this information will assist your health care providers make more informed decisions about the care you need. Health care providers are required by law to protect the privacy of your personal health information.
Can I block access to my information that would be used for health care purposes?
If you do not want any of your health care providers to see your information, you can complete a form and submit it to the ministry. This block will prevent your health care providers from accessing your information.
Before making this decision, you are encouraged to consult with your health care providers about the importance of them knowing your drug and pharmacy service history to help make informed decisions about the care you receive.
If you do not contact the Ministry to block access to your information, we will consider that you have given us permission to make your information available to your health care providers.
If the ministry has previously notified you that access to your information has been blocked, the ministry will not give your health care providers access to your information unless you request a change.
Even if you have blocked your health care providers from accessing information about your monitored drugs for the purpose of providing health care to you, information about your monitored drugs will still be accessible to a health care provider who has actually prescribed or dispensed a monitored drug to you, or is determining whether to prescribe or dispense a monitored drug to you. For more information, please see “Public Notice Regarding the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s (“ministry”) Collection, Use and Disclosure of Information under the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act, 2010”.
Health Care Provider Access to Drug and Pharmacy Service Information
Questions and Answers
