Concerned for patients’ privacy and pocketbooks, Ontario’s health minister says he will tackle a new Big Pharma marketing scheme that uses electronic medical records to sell drugs.

Minister Eric Hoskins said he will ask Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons to investigate how electronic vouchers that steer patients to brand name drugs over cheaper generics “may be impacting privacy, accessibility and affordability.”

He said he also plans to “express my concerns” with Telus Health, which inserts the electronic vouchers into its popular electronic medical record software (EMR) used by thousands of doctors across Canada.

Read more at The Toronto Star