Overview
- Conservative MPs, speaking on Parliament Hill Monday, asked the Auditor-General to investigate nearly $300 million spent on PrescribeIT as the platform heads for shutdown on May 29.
- Health Canada disclosed total federal costs of $298 million for the project, including about $98 million paid to Telus Health as the main technology vendor.
- Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded non-profit, ran PrescribeIT to replace faxed prescriptions, yet the low uptake reported at under five percent led the government to end the program.
- MPs on the House health committee said they received few answers after summoning Infoway’s CEO and officials from Health Canada and Telus last week, and they voted to call more witnesses with a follow-up meeting set for Tuesday.
- Conservatives accused the government of filibustering document requests and warned a pending committee shake-up under a new Liberal majority could curb access, while a Bloc Québécois vice-chair backed an Auditor-General review.