VICTORIA - The Health Statutes Amendment Act, Bill 26, was introduced today to further support the Ministry of Health in the delivery of safe, high quality health services to British Columbians.

The proposed legislation will amend the Health Care Consent and Care Facility Amendment Act, the Health Emergency Act and the Pharmacists, Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act. The amendments support the ministry's goal of continued excellence in service, innovation and quality health care for all British Columbians in a public health system.

The proposed legislative amendments will:
* Provide clear direction on the admission procedure and continued residence of adults in care facilities. It will apply the definition of a care facility to a broader range of facilities, including those outside the Community Care and Assisted Living Act. The amendment will also provide protection for individuals and their families with a provincial standard guiding the admission or release of individuals in residential care facilities;

* Support the transition of the BC HealthGuide Program, BC NurseLine, Dial-A- Dietician and bcbedline services from the Ministry of Health to the Health Services Commission. This transfer to the Emergency and Health Services Commission is part of a wider ranging strategy to further expand non-emergency health and information services so that British Columbians can access health information through one provider. It will also provide the legislation for the Commission to operate a non-emergency health information service.

* Expand the future capabilities of the province's PharmaNet system, while further safeguarding British Columbians' personal health information. PharmaNet is a secure electronic network in British Columbia. It protects patients from potentially dangerous medication errors, duplications and dangerous combinations of different medications by linking prescriptions to a central database. The amendments will allow electronic prescriptions be recorded in PharmaNet. The amendments will also provide the provisions that will authorize patient to access to their own medication profile and access logs online in the near future.