e-prescribing

Ottawa Spent $298M on PrescribeIT. Telus Kept 85% of the IP. The Service Shuts Down May 29.

PrescribeIT, the federal e-prescribing service operated by Canada Health Infoway and built primarily by Telus Health, will go offline at 11:59 PM EST on May 29, 2026. Health Canada has acknowledged "more than $290 million" in federal spending on the program over 10 years; Conservative MPs use the rounded "$300 million" figure. Roughly $98 million of that flowed to Telus Health, which retained approximately 85% of the underlying intellectual property. Adoption never broke 5% of Canadian prescriptions. On April 27, 2026, four Conservative MPs on the House of Commons Health Committee — led by Conservative health critic Dan Mazier — formally asked the Auditor General to investigate. The Conservative Party stated that on the same day, "Liberal Members filibustered the health committee to block the release of those documents." Bloc Québécois MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas endorsed the audit request. Health Canada told the committee that detailed PrescribeIT spending is not centrally tracked.