Maine to Require e-Prescribing of Controlled Substances
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Last week the governor of Maine signed into law “An Act To Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program.” In addition to mandated use of the state Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), the law will require prescribers to electronically prescribe controlled substances.
The aim of the law is to reduce opioid abuse and heroin addiction. “Heroin addiction is devastating our communities,” said Governor LePage. “For many, it all started with the overprescribing of opioid pain medications. We can prevent many people from even trying heroin in the first place by putting these limits on the flow of pain pills into our homes. I am thankful to prescribers and pharmacists who helped to craft this legislation and ultimately support it before the Legislature. They recognize that the status quo hasn’t worked and it’s time for some serious reform.”1
The law requires prescribers to do the following:
- Check the state Prescription Monitoring Program prior to writing scripts for opioids or benzodiazepines
- Abide by prescription caps - seven days for acute pain and 30 days for chronic pain by January 2017
- E-Prescribe Controlled Substances by July 2017
- Attend addiction training every two years
This will be a big change for many prescribers. Currently, as little as seven percent of prescribers use the state PMP and according to Surescripts, less than one percent of controlled substance prescriptions were sent electronically in Maine in 2015.
Maine follows New York and Minnesota in mandating e-Prescribing of controlled substances, although Minnesota does not enforce the requirement. New York’s law, which requires e-Prescribing of both non-controlled and controlled substances, went into effect last month. Several more states have similar laws up for legislative discussion as well.
It’s clear that now is the time for anyone not e-Prescribing yet to get started. MDToolbox is offering free trials for anyone who wants to test out e-Prescribing as either a standalone solution for prescribers or an integration solution for Health IT vendors, click here for more information or contact us at 206-331-420 or info@mdtoolbox.com.
- Governor Signs Major Opioid Prescribing Reform Bill, State of Maine Office of Governor Paul R. LePage, http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Gov+News&id=675718&v=article2011