Yukon pharmacists still waiting for prescription tracking system

Pharmacists and doctors in the Yukon want to know why the territorial government is taking so long to design an electronic tracking system for prescriptions.

Pharmacists say an electronic tracking system would cut down the chances of over-prescribing and reduce the reactions from mixing medications.

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Pharmacist Joanne Gibson says such a system would be much safer. 

"It's something that pharmacists in the Yukon have been wanting for quite a while," she said. "It will help us in making sure that the prescriptions we dispense are safe for all patients."

The head of the Yukon Medical Association agrees. Dr. Rao Tadepalli says they have been waiting for the promised system for nearly a decade. 

"It is vitally important that their medication records are as correct as possible because medication errors is one of the commonest mistakes that happen in hospitals."

Josianne Gauthier, president of the Yukon Pharmacists Association, says an electronic tracking system for prescriptions will enhance patient safety and make the health care provider aware of what medication the patient has filled — and in which pharmacies.

The Yukon Department of Health and Social Services says designing the system is complicated and it doesn't know when it will be ready.