Canada’s first iPad prescription filled out in thanks to Medrunner

by Julianna Cummins, Telegraph Journal

The first electronic prescription in Canada made using an iPad was filled out in Rothesay using New Brunswick-developed technology, according to the CEO of MedRunner Health Solutions Inc.

“It’s huge…it validates what we’ve been doing in the past year and a half,” said Todd Murphy, CEO of the Saint John-based company that developed the software.

MedRunner has created and continues to test a web-based application that enables doctors to send prescriptions to pharmacies online. With electronic prescriptions, pharmacies can avoid problems associated with illegible handwriting and negative drug interactions, which can add costs to health care.

This first electronic prescription filled with the iPad application means MedRunner has officially moved into the next stage of development of their technology, said Murphy. The iPad-made prescription was made by Rothesay-based Dr. Gordon Hollway, and was filled at a local Sobeys on Jan. 17.

With this first electronic prescription filled, said Murphy, the technology is in the “beta” stage. This means the technology can now be tested in a closed network with participating members.

Currently, the company is testing the technology with a group of about 10 doctors and 20 pharmacies. They will use the information and suggestions from physicians they gather in the beta stage of development to help them roll out their network on a larger scale, with plans to expand to the rest of Atlantic Canada and Ontario.

While the company has plans to expand, headquarters will remain in Saint John, said Murphy.

The company is also working on partnerships with other parties who are part of the prescription process, such as health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

MedRunner provided all of the participating local doctors with iPads to test out the application, said Murphy. While the application can be used on a number of electronic platforms, Murphy said the portable nature of the iPad is ideal for doctors on the move.

“Now they can take their practice with them,” said Murphy.

Hollway said patients at his Rothesay-based family practice aren’t necessarily surprised when they see him with an iPad.

“I think in the grand scheme of things, physicians offices haven’t been on the vanguard of the digital revolution at all. We’ve certainly got some ways to go, and I think people assume that we are a little further ahead on that than we are,” said Hollway.

At the start of the day, Hollway said he enters his list of patients into the iPad using the MedRunner application. If a patient needs a prescription, he can select the name of the patient, and then select the prescription they need and what pharmacy he wants to submit the prescription to.

He can also follow the same procedure without a list created beforehand. He did note, however, that he is already fairly efficient with writing paper prescriptions.

“As of yet, I don’t think it makes my day easier, but I think it’s the potential that excites me here,” said Hollway.

He noted the usefulness of a technology that could notify physicians of drug interactions, and he would be interested in a system that could connect electronic prescriptions to an electronic health record for a patient.

After celebrating the first electronic prescription sent, one of the next steps for MedRunner is to scale the system for the entire province of New Brunswick, said Murphy. He said he hopes to have that done within the next six months.

“Now the real work starts,” said Murphy.