With only three states left to approve EPCS and a few others working on their final requirements, EPCS is gaining great traction in 2014. As more and more pharmacies come online every day, MDToolbox is excited to be at the forefront of helping HIT vendors and physicians take the next step – and send ALL prescriptions electronically.
What states are we still watching?
And then there were 3 - Arkansas, Montana, and Rhode Island
Arkansas, Montana, and Rhode Island are the three states where EPCS still remains unavailable as their state governments sort out the differences in the State Laws versus the DEA rulings. Arkansas made progress by passing Act 1331 in April of 2013 to clarify that electronic prescribing of controlled substances is permitted. Furthermore, the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy had a public hearing scheduled to discuss the changes in February 2014, but it was postponed until March due to poor weather conditions. Rhode Island also passed a similar bill, SB 647, in June of 2013 which states, “A practitioner may sign and transmit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.” However, further clarification is still needed from all three states before EPCS is allowed. Stay tuned as we will post any updates as soon as we get them!
Oregon
While Oregon is listed as allowing Schedule II-V substances to be sent electronically on the Surescripts map, Schedule II substances can actually only be legally e-Prescribed in emergency situations. A bill was introduced on February 3, 2014, that if approved would allow all controlled substances including Schedule II drugs to be electronically sent in non-emergency situations as well.
New York
All eyes are on New York as they are leading the way by being the first state to mandate that all prescriptions be sent electronically. It was almost a year ago that EPCS became legal in the state of New York. As of March 27, 2013, amendments to Title 10 NYCRR Part 80 Rules and Regulations on Controlled Substances went into effect, technically allowing providers in New York to electronically prescribe Schedule II-V drugs1. However, the actual implementation of EPCS has been slower than expected as the state of New York was overdue finalizing its registration process. Pharmacies and providers are still currently struggling to meet all the requirements.
It was not until January 23, 2014 that Surescripts was able to turn on EPCS functionality for the State of New York. Currently, out of 5,579 registered New York pharmacies there are only about 850 listed as being able to receive electronic controlled substance prescriptions on the Surescripts network. As we mentioned in our post about the Evolution of EPCS, pharmacy software must go through a DEA Certification or third-party audit to verify they comply with the strict regulations put in place by the DEA and through a Surescripts certification. In addition, pharmacies in New York are also required to submit dispensing data for controlled substances using the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP) format Version 4.2 or greater2.
It is not only the pharmacies in New York that have to go through extra steps to use EPCS, the prescribers do as well. The New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) recently released registration packets that are required for each prescriber who would like to transmit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. All prescribers must register their electronic prescribing software and be able to provide proof of a DEA certification or third party audit verifying the software meets the federal security requirements for transmitting controlled substance prescriptions electronically. The DEA requires that all prescribers go through strict identity proofing and receive two-factor authentication credentials for EPCS. Prescribers must attest that they have personally met these federal requirements when registering with the BNE as well.
With the New York I-STOP Law mandating that ALL prescriptions be electronically sent by March 27, 2015 with limited exceptions, providers only have a little over a year to register and begin using EPCS certified software.
MDToolbox is prepared and ready to help any providers meet this fast approaching deadline. We are currently offering free EPCS software tokens for a year to any providers that sign up. Check out our EPCS page and contact us at info@mdtoolbox.com for more information.
- https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/recently_adopted/docs/2013-02-13_electronic_prescribing_dispensing_and_recordkeeping_of_controlled_substances.pdf
- https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/narcotic/electronic_prescribing/