SADIE News

Message from the Ontario Ministry of Health

As you know, many patients with Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplasia who are eligible for Ontario Drug Program coverage may require funding for drugs that are not on the general formulary. These drugs often require approval from the Exceptional Access Program.

I’m pleased to let you know the Ministry of Health is speeding up the processing times for Exceptional Access Program drug decisions by going digital – replacing the fax-based application process with an IT solution called the Special Authorization Digital Information Exchange (SADIE).

When fully rolled out, SADIE will accelerate drug decisions, and in many cases, give eligible patients a decision in real-time. Faster decisions will reduce the number of return trips to the doctor or nurse practitioner for prescriptions after receiving drug funding approval. Getting decisions to prescribers faster means in many cases patients can start drug therapies sooner.

In fact, use of SADIE among a pilot group of physicians and nurse practitioners has already reduced wait times to access drug funding for patients such as those served by your organization!

Please visit http://health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/sadie/news/ for additional information on SADIE and helpful information bulletins.

The SADIE Team