The Drug Information System (DIS) is a province-wide system that provides authorized healthcare professionals with access to a comprehensive medication profile for their patients.
Government introduced the system through 2 phases.
Phase 1: Connecting community pharmacies
All community pharmacies in Nova Scotia were connected to the Drug Information System by November 2016.
Phase 2: Access in hospitals and in the community
In the summer of 2015, other authorized healthcare providers in the community and in hospital like physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, dentists and optometrists started accessing the Drug Information System. Depending on their role, authorized healthcare providers will access the system through either the Drug Information System Portal or the SHARE Clinical Portal.
In this phase, authorized healthcare providers started to view medication profiles and add information to them or update existing information; prescribers also started to e-Prescribe.
Documents and forms are available online to help pharmacies connect to the Drug Information System.
Learn more: Getting Connected to the Drug Information System
Pharmacists connected to the Drug Information System can access to patient lab values in the provincial electronic health record system called SHARE.
Learn more: Accessing Patient Lab Values
Educational material about the Drug Information System is available online for dispensary staff (pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants).
Learn more: Drug Information System Educational Material
Technical support for the Drug Information System is provided by a pharmacy’s service desk or system vendor.
Learn more: Technical Support for the Drug Information System
If you have questions or comments about the Drug Information System, contact dis@novascotia.ca.
Community pharmacies began connecting in the fall of 2013. Other authorized healthcare providers will begin using the system in the summer of 2015