Non-profit behind PrescribeIT should no longer deliver digital services, internal review concludes

In the wake of its failed $300-million PrescribeIT program, Canada Health Infoway should stay away from delivering digital services but continue to receive federal funds to champion national standards in electronic health data, a review the organization has conducted of itself has concluded.

In its 77-page internal review released Friday, the federally funded non-profit acknowledged it had drifted away from its original role as a body helping provinces and territories adopt digital health platforms that are compatible and meet security and privacy standards.

Infoway said the review “was not designed to provide a retrospective examination of past events or challenges, nor to assess broader compliance, oversight or accountability matters.”

Ottawa asked Infoway to undertake its internal review to assess its mandate and performance before third parties conduct a separate review and audit of the organization later this year. The federal health minister froze funding for Infoway and ordered the reviews in June, following scrutiny at the House of Commons health committee of the PrescribeIT program, which Infoway shut down earlier this year. Infoway also dismissed its long-time chief executive officer in April.

Infoway launched PrescribeIT in 2017 to get doctors to send their prescriptions electronically. However, less than 5 per cent of prescriptions flowed through the system when it was shut down, partly because doctors were not convinced to use it and pharmacists were put off by user fees. Nearly $300-million in federal funds was spent on PrescribeIT.

Conservative MP Dan Mazier, his party’s critic for procurement, said Infoway failed to critically examine what the organization had done wrong.

“Infoway investigated Infoway and found that Infoway is innocent and deserves billions more tax dollars,” he said. ”Are we surprised? The Liberals put the fox in charge of the henhouse by asking Infoway to investigate itself. It’s a complete conflict of interest and a slap in the face to the taxpayers.”

About 200 external stakeholders as well as staffers were surveyed as part of the internal review.

Infoway said its “value is a largely unseen but critical national co-ordination role that connects federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous policy priorities with common standards, implementation support and market readiness so that Canadians and their providers can access and exchange health information across jurisdictions and care settings.”

The review said the “PrescribeIT experience” showed that “direct service delivery can expose the organization to significant implementation and adoption risk.”

The review noted that Quebec opted to keep operating its own version of PrescribeIT, with operational costs fully covered by the province. “This model more closely reflects the role identified through the review: Infoway contributes national and technical capabilities while the jurisdiction retains responsibility and accountability for service delivery,” the review said.

To carry out its core function, Infoway said it needs stable, long-term funding rather than what it described as short-term, cyclical money.

Federal records show the organization received annual funding of more than $80-million in most recent years, for a total of more than $2.6-billion since it was founded in 2001.

The office of Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Infoway has received no funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and no decision on future funding will be made until after a third-party review is completed.

Federal records show Health Canada awarded a $98,988 contract to KPMG LLP to conduct a strategic review of Infoway by March 31, 2027. A separate contract to audit Infoway has not yet been awarded.

“As the Minister has stated throughout this process, our government is committed to transparency and ensuring value for every taxpayer dollar,” Alexandre Bergeron, Ms. Michel’s press secretary, said in an e-mail.

Earlier this year – before PrescribeIT had attracted public scrutiny – the federal government suggested Infoway could play a role implementing Bill S-5, legislation that was introduced to make it easier for health-care providers and patients to share and access electronic medical records. The bill passed the Senate earlier this year and began debate in the House of Commons on Thursday.

Infoway’s internal review sets up the case that the organization is still needed to implement the bill after it passes.

There has been leadership turmoil at Infoway in recent months. Long-time chair Peter Vaughan, who testified at a parliamentary committee in the spring, left in June, replaced by vice-chair Richard Jock. Infoway also confirmed to The Globe that three other executives − David Fast, Angela Jonsson and Ian Lording − were no longer with the organization.