The territorial government plans to audit Yukon pharmacies' billings and claims as part of its on-going development of a pharmaceutical information technology system.

"By implementing a pharmaceutical information technology system, we hope to be able to identify where people are shopping around their prescriptions and other things that happen that we aren't currently catching, or at least we aren't catching a few of them,” Health and Social Services Minister Doug Graham said during question period Wednesday in the legislature.

"We know that in co-operation with the various pharmacies in the territory that a lot of this kind of stuff is prevented. What we're trying to do is implement a pharmaceutical information technology system that will allow us to further streamline the process.”

Graham was responding to a question posed by NDP Leader Liz Hanson.

"What has this government done to follow up on the recommendations of both the 2008 Report on the Audit of the Pharmacare and Extended Health Benefits Programs and the 2011 Phase Two Follow-Up On Pharmacare and Extended Health Benefits Program Audit?” she asked.

Hanson later told the media that both audits recommended the government implement an audit of its spending on pharmaceuticals.

"There's been recommendations that we need to have a better handle on how the ever-increasing budget for drugs in this territory is being managed and this government has refused to do so,” she said.

Hanson noted in the house that government spending on prescription drugs has risen at a rate of 12 per cent a year.

Graham said the Yukon, in conjunction with other health ministers across the country,  is participating in a project aimed at reducing the cost to governments of prescription drugs.

"The first step in that process was to recently negotiate an agreement with drug companies for six drugs that are in use across the country.

"The negotiations allowed all provinces and territories to reduce the cost of these six particular drugs by about 82 per cent. Now, this is for only six drugs, but it is only the beginning of this process that we hope to see continued in the years to come,” he said.

Hanson also tabled the results of a federal audit of the Canadian governments Non-Insured Health Benefits Program with the intention of highlighting the need for action from the Yukon government as well.

The documents "show pharmacies in both Whitehorse and Watson Lake made incorrect billing claims under the non-insured health benefits program.

"These documents include references to prescribers' authority and guidelines, incomplete information, lack of signature, prescription splitting and repetition of professional fees, inconsistency in dosage and days, incorrect person, incorrect pricing,” Hanson said.