Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) is now legal in all 50 States.  Missouri and Vermont were the last two states to authorize electronic prescribing of controlled substances.  Missouri’s regulations became effective July 30^th, 2015.  Today, August 28^th, Vermont became the final state to allow prescribers to legally prescribe controlled substances electronically for schedule II-V drugs.  Prescribers can now electronically prescribe controlled substances at any participating pharmacy in the United States. 

National EPCS availability is a key step in combating prescription drug fraud and abuse.  With the adoption of EPCS, patients will no longer be able to forge paper prescriptions.  Drug seeking behaviors and patterns will also be easier to identify and respond to.  With the increased electronic connectivity of pharmacies, medication histories will be more readily available.  All of these factors will also create a much safer environment for patients. 

The state of New York has passed legislation requiring prescribers to do all of their prescribing electronically starting in March next year.  As that deadline draws near and potentially other states follow, it will be necessary to stay current and have a viable EPCS solution.  Currently, the national average of pharmacies enabled for EPCS is 80.3%. Now that EPCS is legal in all states and as more states make EPCS a requirement, we expect to see more and more pharmacies coming online and allowing receipt of EPCS. 

MDToolbox offers both a certified stand-alone e-Prescribing solution, as well as an integratable solution for EHR or PM systems to add full e-Prescribing capabilities or add on just EPCS capabilities. MDToolbox is ready to help prescribers and software companies through the DEA requirements to get fully prescribing controlled and non-controlled substances electronically. Check out our EPCS page or contact us at info@mdtoolbox.com for more info.