N.B. to track prescription drug use

Health Minister Mary Schryer introduced legislation on Tuesday to create electronic records for prescription drug use in New Brunswick.

Schryer told the legislative assembly that this e-record system will allow doctors, pharmacists and dentists to see a patient's prescription history.

By providing this information to health providers, the minister said, the province is hoping to curtail prescription drug abuse.

"The misuse and abuse of the narcotics and controlled drugs is a serious problem in our society," Schryer said in a news release.

"This act would alert medical professionals to the possible misuse of monitored drugs, such as when prescriptions for narcotic substances are filled at multiple locations in the same day."

Schryer introduced the legislation to set up the system along with amendments to the province's privacy legislation to make sure records are seen onlyby people who need to look at them.

The Department of Health is planning to have the prescription monitoring program in place by early 2011.

Inquestrecommendations

Nova Scotia is the only Atlantic province with a prescription drug monitoring system.

There have been repeated calls for theNew Brunswickgovernment to establish a method of tracking prescription drugs.

Coroner's inquests in 2002, 2004 and 2006 into deaths related to prescription drug overdoses all made recommendations to the government for a monitoring system.

The Liberals also committed to introducing a prescription drug monitoring program in the 2006 election.