eVisitNB CEO disputes minister’s claim on prescription renewal data

eVisitNB CEO disputes minister’s claim on prescription renewal data

Maple is pushing New Brunswickers to retain services at cost following eVisitNB’s end

The CEO of the outgoing virtual care service said eVisitNB did in fact share data with the province about what percentage of requests were about prescription refills, despite a claim from the Health Minister otherwise.

At a news conference Wednesday, Health Minister John Dornan said the department wasn’t aware how many prescription renewals would be coming in through Virtual Care NB.

“We didn't have data from the prior provider as to what volume was prescription renewals and you could almost expect that. We have 200,000 people that don't have family doctors or primary care practitioners. Many still take medications,” Dornan said Wednesday.

"So we might have been able to anticipate that to some extent. We did not know the exact problem."

eVisitNB co-founder and CEO Hanif Chatur told CBC News in an interview that he sent the department emails in September 2025 that included info showing that about 63 per cent of consults involved prescription renewals, based on year-to-date data from that month.

“We're a data-driven company because we're digital. We know when our consults start, we know when they end, we know what they're for. We know how long they take. We know whether a prescription is issued,” Chatur said.

He said the claim that there had been no data was “a bit shocking” adding that eVisitNB was responsible in their data reporting requirements.

“I'm just wondering if this data was just not shared with the decision makers who really needed to understand, you know, what New Brunswickers were using eVisitNB for," Chatur said.

CBC News requested an interview from the Health Department on Thursday.

A spokesperson instead emailed a statement from Dornan, which said the department didn’t have “detailed, reliable data specific to prescription renewals — such as the type and frequency of renewals, and the number of unique individuals using the service and how often.”

Dornan wrote that the department identified “data issues” with the information received from eVisitNB, “which limited its ability to accurately understand the demand for renewal services.”

Dornan said the new Virtual Care NB is averaging 50 consultations per day and the number is growing.

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Chatur said eVisitNB had usually seen about 600 patients a day but that it could be upward of 1,000 daily during cold and flu season.

He said ultimately he wants to see the new virtual care service succeed, but that the department doesn’t “quite understand what the needs of New Brunswickers are.”

“So how are you going to be able to build a solution to meet it?”

Pharmacists’ association not ready to respond

CBC News also requested an interview with the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association. Dornan said Wednesday that the department would better consult with them going forward to remove barriers to accessing prescriptions.

CEO Heidi Liston wrote in an email that the association is giving the department time to reach out following their announcement on Wednesday before providing an interview.

Amidst concerns about how well the new virtual care system is working, New Brunswickers are being given an option to continue with private care, at their own cost.

Maple, the virtual care platform that had licenced their software to eVisitNB, has sent an email to New Brunswickers urging them to continue using their services at cost if they would like.

“Since eVisitNB’s program with the Government of New Brunswick concluded, we wanted to briefly check in,” the email said.

Virtual care is available through Maple 24 hours a day and patient records are secure and are still able to be accessed, the email said.

A Maple spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company would "continue to be available to New Brunswick residents when they’re looking for options to access to on-demand care."

One senior in Fredericton has already made that decision, along with his wife, after hearing about Dornan’s news conference.

Ernie MacKinnon said Dornan’s comments urging New Brunswickers to not wait until the last minute to renew prescriptions, and to use a primary care doctor if you have one, told him that wait times must be “exorbitant.”

“That was all I needed to hear,” MacKinnon said.

He signed up for Maple on Thursday and already had a prescription renewed “within a few minutes of being in touch with a doctor.”

It costs $97.50 a month for both of them, he said.

MacKinnon said the former eVisitNB had worked “great” for his family and he was able to quickly get prescription renewals.

“How is it that now we have a new outfit and they're so bad that people are encouraged to start days or weeks before their prescription runs out to start trying to get a renewal?”

MacKinnon said he and his wife lost their family doctor seven years ago and need to have timely access to health care.

“The most important issue for someone like us is service when you need it on a timely basis,” MacKinnon said.

He’s already started spreading the word on day one of being a Maple customer.

“I talked about it with my golf partners this morning and they were all interested to hear about it.”

Sam Farley is a Fredericton-based reporter at CBC New Brunswick. Originally from Boston, he is a journalism graduate of the University of King's College in Halifax. He can be reached at sam.farley@cbc.ca