June 05, 2023

Effective September 1, 2023, Drug Profile Viewer (DPV) no longer available on eHealth Portal

The Ministry of Health and Ontario Health will be decommissioning the Drug Profile Viewer (DPV) effective September 1, 2023. This is a re-scheduling of the decommissioning which was deferred in April 2020 to support healthcare providers’ priorities for managing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

DPV will no longer be available as the technology that supports DPV and the eHealth Portal is at ‘end of life’. In place of the DPV, all DPV-enrolled organizations are enabled to access provincial drug and pharmacy information in the Digital Health Drug Repository (DHDR) via one of the provincial clinical viewers- ClinicalConnect® or ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer. 

The DHDR is a newer and more comprehensive information source as it has more than eleven years of information compared to the one year of information available in DPV and includes information on publicly funded dispensed drugs and pharmacy services, as well as all monitored drugs dispensed in the province regardless of payor. Similar to the DPV, the provincial clinical viewers provide a “summary” view to facilitate building a Best Possible Medication History (BPMH) with patients and medication reconciliation.

Work is also in progress to advance the DHDR towards its goal of a comprehensive drug record for all people in Ontario and for all drugs. Contribution to the DHDR of information about hospital administered medications and community dispensed medications and services is anticipated to begin in Spring 2024. As hospital and community pharmacies across the province are onboarded to submit to the DHDR over the next few years, a more comprehensive record will be available for patients. This will include for patients without a health card number, any drug or pharmacy service regardless of payor, as well as additionally clinically important details such as a medication’s instructions for use.

All users who continue to use the DPV are advised to transition to the DHDR immediately. To inquire about your access to the DHDR via a provincial viewer or to request enrolment, contact your organization’s Local Registration Authority (LRA) or in southwest Ontario, your organization’s ClinicalConnect LRA. If you do not know who your LRA is, contact the Ontario Health Service Desk at 1-866-250-1554 or oh-servicedesk@ontariohealth.ca.

Prior to accessing the DHDR and the provincial viewer, all healthcare providers must complete:

• DHDR mandatory training: ClinicalConnect users | ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer users
• privacy and security training or be in compliance with your organization’s annual privacy and security training.

Additional Resources and Support Information:

• DPV Decommissioning Q&A
• Digital Health Drug Repository (DHDR)
• www.ontario.ca/mydruginfo
• DHDR Clinical Use Guide

South Western Ontario:

• ClinicalConnect education and support resources

Greater Toronto Area and Northern and Eastern Ontario:

• ConnectingOntario ClinicalViewer education and support resources
• Comparison of DHDR and DPV

For assistance or more information, contact Ontario Health Service Desk:

1-866-250-1554 or OH-DS_servicedesk@ontariohealth.ca

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