Pharmacists keep their records in the pharmacy, but are also required to enter a record of every prescription that they fill onto PharmaNet. PharmaNet is a province-wide computerized system for recording all your prescriptions. It contains all prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies in BC as well as prescriptions dispensed from hospital outpatient pharmacies for patient use at home. In addition, physicians can record medications provided to patients during an office, clinic or emergency department visit, although this is not mandatory. Not all physicians have access to the systems.

This network contains confidential personal profiles of everyone who has obtained prescription medications from a pharmacy in BC, whether dispensed in a community pharmacy or hospital outpatient pharmacy. This means PharmaNet tracks your entire prescription history, regardless of where you get your prescription filled in BC.

Currently, 1050 pharmacies connect to PharmaNet to process over 4 million prescriptions per month. Each time a prescription is filled, a drug interaction check is done, and a claim is sent to PharmaCare to determine how much the patient must pay and how much is covered by PharmaCare. Seventy-eight hospital emergency departments and 1650 medical practices use PharmaNet to access patient medication profiles. Mental health facilities also have access.
It is a good idea to check your PharmaNet record from time to time to ensure that it is accurate, as, like anything else, computer glitches or human error can result in errors in your file.

The eDrug Project is one of the province`s current EHR projects.  It involves upgrading the existing PharmaNet system and integrating with BC’s electronic health record as it comes online. The project will implement PharmaNet-eRx,.   For more information about eDrug and PharmaNet eRx, see the discussion below under e-Health.

Or call: PharmaNet 1-604-683-7151 (Metro Vancover only) Help Desk at:
1-800-663-7100