The Drug and Health Product Register
Learn about the Drug and Health Product Register (DHPR) and how it provides information on medication
On this page
Overview
The DHPR gives you easy access to consumer information about:
- drug use,
- drug safety
- natural health products
- regulated medical devices
- side effects that are common or reported
All information available through the DHPR has been government approved.
You can use the DHPR to search for information about drugs, including by:
- brand name
- active ingredient
- drug identification number (DIN).
Drug information available through the DHPR includes:
- what it does
- how to store it
- side effects, such as:
- how to report them
- what to do about them
- ingredients, such as:
- medicinal
- non-medicinal
- how to use it properly
- what dosage form it comes in
- warnings, precautions and interactions
Why it was created
The DHPR was created to make information on health products available to Canadians.
The information in the DHPR has always been publically available, but it was previously stored in various databases. These databases had different search tools and capabilities. This made information hard to find and understand.
The register was developed to address these concerns. It supports our policy on https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/transparency/regulatory-transparency-and-openness.htmlopen government and regulatory transparency.
Why you might be interested
You may be interested in the DHPR if you:
- want to know how to use health products effectively
- want access to health product regulatory information and data
- care about the safety and effectiveness of the health products you use
The public will benefit the most from using the DHPR. While the DHPR is designed for all Canadians, it may be especially useful to:
- health care providers
- consumers and patients
- health care providers,
- professionals delivering health care services
- researchers interested in Canada's health care system.
Other groups may benefit as new information is added. New information will include:
- drug decisions
- drug product information
- data on other types of health products
Features and Benefits
The main features of the DHPR include that it:
- is designed to include
- new fuctions
- more in-depth consumer information
- more health products, including natural health products and medical devices
- is easy to find and use
- can be further developed in terms of content and size
- this will allow more and new types of information to be added as it becomes avalible
- provides a user-friendly side effect reporting capability for:
- consumers
- health professionals
- combines health product information form different locations into a single tool
Benefits of the DHPR include that it:
- is a single search platform
- is mobile and user friendly
- provides easy access in a central location to:
- summary reports
- reported side effects
Our commitment
Canada is responsible for regulating health products and provides information on their safety and proper use. The DHPR has been designed to improve access to health product information by presenting it in a format that’s:
- searchable
- user friendly
How the register delivers on these commitments
The DHPR is designed as a virtual warehouse. It collects and stores the information reported during regulatory activities. It also delivers detailed and understandable information that explains health product safety.
Currently, the DHPR provides users with access to bilingual consumer information on all drugs marketed for human use. This includes the publication of specific consumer information, such as:
- ingredients
- side effects
- what the drug is used for
It also provides adverse event reports and summary reports, including the:
- Summary Safety Review (SSR)
- Summary Basis Of Decision (SBD)
- Regulatory Decision Summary (RDS)
This information is given for:
- medical devices
- applicable drugs
- some natural health products (SSR only)
The first release of the DHPR took place in winter 2015 and gave Canadians the opportunity to test the system. Since then, the DHPR has taken feedback into consideration by adding:
- enhancements
- additional content
- improved functionality of the system
Future expansions of DHPR could include
- new transparency and openness efforts
Our goal is for the DHPR to be the main source of publically available information about health product safety and use.
We’re asking for ongoing feedback on how easy and fast it is to search for the information you want. This feedback will help us to improve the DHPR for future releases.