Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin recently signed HB342 into law. This Act mandates Kentucky healthcare providers to electronically prescribe all controlled substances with an effective date of January 1^st, 2021

Other subsections of this Act include:

• The act contains provisions for a waiver to delay the mandate for a specified time period for e-prescribing in the event of economic hardship, technological limitations, or exceptional circumstances, these are to be determined.
• Pharmacies are not required to verify if a controlled substance prescription received via written, oral, or fax falls within the state and federal laws.

Kentucky has remained above the national average for opioid-related overdose deaths since 2001, several years were double the national rate.  In 2000, only nine counties in the U.S. had overdose death rates of more than 20 per 100,000 people, and four of these were located in Kentucky.  By 2014, more than half of Kentucky counties had overdose rates that high.  This represents a quadrupling of deaths due to drug overdose, from less than 250 in 2000 to more than 1,000 each year since 2010.  According to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, drug overdose deaths reached 1,248 in 2015. [1]

Over the past two decades, the Commonwealth has taken efforts to curb problems related to substance use. In 1998, Kentucky became one of the first states to launch a prescription drug monitoring program—the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) system to monitor medical use of controlled substances, such as prescription opioid painkillers. KASPER has since been enhanced and now offers health care providers and pharmacies real-time 24-hour access to prescription information that can be used to monitor and prevent overuse of prescription medications.  Policymakers have also adopted policies aimed at reducing the impact of illegal drugs, such as passing the 2015 Senate Bill 192, which authorized expanded use of naloxone, a drug that treats opioid overdoses, and funded substance use treatment programs.[2]

Kentucky currently has only 18.9% provider enablement for electronic prescribing of controlled substances, which is below the national average of 33.4%.  Pharmacy enablement for EPCS is 98.1% which makes Kentucky one of the states with highest percentage of pharmacies ready to receive electronic prescriptions.  The current nation average for pharmacies is 95.2%.[2]  There will likely be a big push leading up to 2021 to secure electronic prescribing, MDToolbox encourages providers not to wait!

Kentucky now aligns with several other states mandating electronic prescribing.  MDToolbox looks forward to working with providers throughout Kentucky to ease the transition and help provide tools and resources in combating the opioid epidemic.  With MDToolbox providers have access to tools such as Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) and convenient on the go mobile e-prescribing.  Contact us for more information or to start your free 30 day free trial.

[1]https://www.healthy-ky.org/res/images/resources/Full-Substance-Use-Brief-Final_12_16-002-.pdf

[2]https://surescripts.com/enhance-prescribing/e-prescribing/e-prescribing-for-controlled-substances/

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon recently signed Enrolled Act No 66/SF0047 into law. This Act mandates Wyoming providers to electronically prescribe all controlled substances with an effective date of January 1^st, 2021.  The Act has provisions for the state board to provide some exemptions to the requirement for emergencies and has the power to grant an extension to a dispenser or practitioner; however, being granted an extension is not guaranteed.

Other subsections of this Act include:

• Prior to writing a prescription for a controlled substance, providers are required to search the state PMP database, as well as every 3 months thereafter for as long as the patient remains on a controlled substance.
• Pharmacies must submit their dispense data on controlled substances to the state daily.
• All prescribing providers are required to take 3 hours of continuing education every two years related to the responsible prescribing of controlled substances when they renew their license.
• All Schedule II prescriptions require either written or electronic prescription until the 1/1/21 mandate, oral orders will not be accepted.
• All Schedule III and IV prescriptions shall not be refilled more than six months after the prescribed date, and not refilled more than five times unless renewed. 

In recent years, Wyoming has fallen below the national average for opioid-related overdose deaths.  However, prior to 2015 Wyoming was above the national average for 5 consecutive years[1].  The state trends continue to rise along with the national average of opiate-related deaths.  Wyoming currently has only 17.5% provider enablement for electronic prescribing of controlled substances[2], well below the national average.  There will likely be a big push leading up to 2021 to secure electronic prescribing, MDToolbox encourages providers not to wait!

Wyoming now aligns with several other states mandating electronic prescribing. MDToolbox looks forward to working with providers throughout Wyoming to ease the transition and help provide tools and resources in combating the opioid epidemic. With MDToolbox providers have access to tools such as Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) and convenient on the go mobile e-prescribing.  Contact us for more information or to start your free 30 day free trial.

[1]https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state/wyoming-opioid-summary

[2]https://surescripts.com/enhance-prescribing/e-prescribing/e-prescribing-for-controlled-substances/

Electronic prescriptions allow for providers to enter any free-text directions (Sig) they wish, just as if they were writing a paper prescription. The patient directions are one of the most critical parts of a prescription. It’s a huge safety risk if patients do not understand how to use their prescription or if a pharmacist has to try to interpret what the provider means. In a recent study that analyzed 25,000 electronic prescriptions issued by 22,152 community-based prescribers using 501 e-prescribing software applications, it was found that there was a large number of variations in the electronic prescription directions¹. The quality of the directions also varied greatly.

The study was conducted by Yuze Yang, PharmD, from Surescripts and colleagues, and published online in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy. Out of the 25,000 e-prescriptions, there were 3,797 unique Sigs concepts identified in the Sig text strings. However, more than half of all patient directions could be classified into just 25 unique Sig concepts. There were large numbers of variation of even what would be considered simple and straightforward directions found. For example, over 800 permutations of words and phrases used to convey "take one tablet by mouth once daily" were identified.

The researchers not only looked at the variations, they also analyzed the Sig text strings for quality-related events which were defined as “Sig text content that could impair accurate and unambiguous interpretation by staff at receiving pharmacies.” The biggest quality issue observed was incomplete Sigs. Prescriptions were commonly missing relevant dosages or administration frequency/timing information. They found that more than one in ten prescriptions contained some sort of quality issue.  Considering the number of electronic prescriptions that are sent and the not only time-wasting potential but possibly catastrophic results that could come from such quality issues, that figure is way too high.

The authors' recommendations for reducing the quality issues and variations include:

• Enhancing e-prescribing application user interfaces and Sig creation tools
• Improving end-user training and usability testing for optimal use of system functionalities
• Adopting and implementing the currently available Structured and Codified Sig format by both prescriber and pharmacy systems to facilitate improved standardization and interoperability

At MDToolbox, patient safety and ease of use for prescribers are two of our main focuses when designing our directions input fields. We offer several options designed to make entering quality directions as easy as possible:

• Sig builder – build complete directions in just a few easy clicks
• Common Sigs – choose from the most commonly used Sigs already available in the system
• Saved favorite directions – prescribers can enter directions that they commonly use and save them as a favorite with a shortcut that can be quickly accessed
• Free-text directions – although free-text directions open it up to possible quality errors, MDToolbox has implemented quality checkers to ensure that free-text directions are not missing any of the information the contributes to many of the quality issues such as “how much” or “how often” the prescription should be used.

MDToolbox is also constantly looking for ways like our quality checkers to enhance these areas even more. Part of the way we do this is by conducting usability tests and end-user trainings in order to get feedback from users and ensure users are taking advantage of the available tools. We share a goal with Surescripts to have zero-error e-prescribing and are continually striving towards this goal.

1. Quality and Variability of Patient Directions in Electronic Prescriptions in the Ambulatory Care Setting https://www.jmcp.org/doi/10.18553/jmcp.2018.17404 

Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA) are confident the Every Prescription Conveyed Securely (EPCS) Act they proposed will be passed. The bill mandates electronic prescribing of controlled substances for Medicare patients nationwide.

When speaking at a forum in Washington, DC, the representatives said the bill has five cosponsors and the strong bipartisan support needed to become law.¹ They want to pass it in whatever way necessary - either as a stand-alone bill or attached to another piece of legislation. Clark emphasized the importance of the bill stating, “we will put it on any vehicle that we see, and I hope we can do it in the next few months.”

The EPCS Act is meant to combat the opioid epidemic by helping providers detect fraud and abuse by patients who may be seeking the same prescriptions from multiple sources. Mullin pointed out that currently only about 14% of opioids are e-Prescribed. This leaves a huge amount of handwritten prescriptions that can be easily forged.

The bill sponsors said that opioid manufacturers and distributors as well as pharmacy benefit managers are in full support of the bill. Steve Miller, MD, the chief medical officer of one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, Express Scripts, expressed his support of mandator e-Prescribing at the forum stating, “We're really excited the federal government is getting into the act.” He pointed out a few of the many benefits of e-Prescribing for Medicare patients – increasing convenience, improving access to needed pain medications, and eliminating fraud and abuse.

There has been some resistance from healthcare providers and hospitals due to the expenses that would go along with implementing e-Prescribing. While there is a cost associated with e-Prescribing controlled substances, we have seen the benefits of e-Prescribing for providers more than make up for this cost. Clark stated that e-Prescribing is a “critical tool going forward” in the fight against the opioid epidemic that’s worth the cost.

The law would also not go into effect until 2020, leaving plenty of time for prescribers to prepare. In addition, there would be a number of exemptions including economic hardship and technologic limitations for up to a year, during public health emergencies or in clinical trials.

Find out more about Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances.

   1.  e-Prescribing Bill for Controlled Substances May Soon Be Law - Medscape - Oct 24, 2017 

Implementing ways to fight the national opioid epidemic is at the forefront of many states’ legislative sessions.  As we’ve mentioned in several previous posts, a growing number of states are fighting the epidemic by requiring prescribers to electronically prescribe these controlled substances. A new study published by the Journal of Opioid Management shows that these lawmakers are on the right track. And it’s more than just increasing legibility and preventing prescription fraud.

Researchers from John Hopkins University analyzed 510 prescriptions for opioids looking for errors, discrepancies, and variations from ideal practice¹. The study included both handwritten and electronically generated prescriptions filled at an outpatient pharmacy. An alarming 89% of handwritten prescriptions contained errors. What’s more is that 41% of those prescriptions were noncompliant with DEA rules. Overall, 92% of handwritten prescriptions failed to meet ideal practice standards, contained errors, or were noncompliant with DEA rules.

In contrast, none of the EHR computer-generated prescriptions contained errors and all of them were fully compliant with DEA rules. Electronic prescriptions are written using standard templates where most of the time the software will not even allow a prescriber to save the prescription without including necessary information such as the date, amount, and at least two patient identifiers. The software also aids in making sure any additional DEA rules and best practices are being followed.

The opioid epidemic needs to be tackled from several angles, including making sure the prescriptions that are being provided are accurate and safe for patients. Patient safety needs to be a top priority and prescribers need to make use of the tools available to aid them in following best practices and ensuring all DEA rules are abided by. Electronically prescribing has been shown time and time again to be a powerful resource. For more information on how to get started with e-Prescribing, contact us at info@mdtoolbox.com or 206-331-4420. 

  1.  An analysis of errors, discrepancies, and variation in opioid prescriptions for adult outpatients at a teaching hospital http://www.wmpllc.org/ojs-2.4.2/index.php/jom/article/view/556

E-Prescribing makes the prescribing process easier and safer for patients, prescribers, and pharmacists alike, so it comes as no surprise that e-Prescribing rates continue to surge each year. Surescripts recently released its 2016 National Progress Report¹ detailing the e-Prescribing growth they’ve seen on their network.

A total of 1.6 billion e-prescriptions were sent in 2016, up 12% from 1.4 billion in 2015. This accounts for 73% of all prescriptions being sent electronically.

The rates for e-Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) saw one of the biggest increases with a 256% jump from 2015. There were 45.3 million e-prescriptions for controlled substances sent in 2016 as compared to only 12.8 million in 2015. Part of this increase can be attributed to states such as New York, Minnesota and soon to be Maine mandating that all controlled substances be sent electronically.

The mandate helped New York be ranked number 1 in the Surescripts report with 72.1% of prescribers enabled for EPCS, 98.1% of pharmacies enabled, and 91.9% of controlled substances prescribed electronically. Minnesota, who doesn’t enforce their mandate, was ranked number 7 with 14.3% of prescribers enabled for EPCS, 93.8% of pharmacies enabled, and 19.8% of controlled substances prescribed electronically.

States are putting these mandates in place in an effort to combat substance abuse and increase patient safety. With software, like MDToolbox-Rx, incorporating EPCS into the existing e-Prescribing workflows, it really leaves little reason for those prescribers who are already e-Prescribing not to electronically prescribe controlled substances as well.

The ability to access patient medication histories electronically at the point of prescribing also plays an important role in patient safety. It allows prescribers the ability to see a more complete history and avoid adverse drug events. The amount of providers accessing medical histories on the Surescripts network also increased in 2016. More than 1.08 billion medication histories were accessed.

2016 also saw a 22% increase in the number of healthcare professional connected to the Surescripts network with 1.3 million healthcare professionals connecting. However, although the number of prescribers connected increased by 7%, it’s somewhat surprising that 36% of prescribers are still not connected. We are confident that the number of prescribers who connect will continue to increase though, as prescribers continue to realize the value of e-Prescribing and the ease of use provided by software like MDToolbox-Rx.

1. Surescripts 2016 National Progress Report http://surescripts.com/news-center/national-progress-report-2016/

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Texas are the four most recent states to join the prescription monitoring program (PMP) run by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) – NABP PMP InterConnect¹. This brings the total number of states connected to 37, making it the largest prescription data sharing network. Over 3.9 million requests and 8.2 million responses are processed through the system each month.

The complete list of connected states includes: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

It is expected that other states will be joining soon too. “We’re excited about the growth and response to PMP InterConnect,” said NABP President Hal Wand, MBA, RPh. “Our goal is to reach every state with a PMP to guarantee a true connection across our country in an effort for greater medical knowledge and our patients’ safety.”

There is no charge to the states to use the system and it’s setup to enforce each state’s data-access rules. Authorized healthcare professionals including physicians and pharmacists in each of the connected states are able to access multi-state histories of their patients’ controlled substance prescriptions. This is an important tool in combating prescription drug abuse and identifying potential problems by allowing providers to see a comprehensive history, especially for those patients who cross state lines.

1. "Four States Join NABP PMP InterConnect, the Nation’s Largest Prescription Data Sharing Network," National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) https://nabp.pharmacy/four-states-join-nabp-pmp-interconnect-nations-largest-prescription-data-sharing-network/

As we ring in the new year, medical providers now can say goodbye to the CMS’s “Meaningful Use Incentive Program” (MU) and start preparing for the new Medicare incentive program.

Providers who used qualified systems in 2016 can still attest to Meaningful Use for the 2016 year (you must have been a “meaningful user” of certified electronic medical record system(s) for the minimum reporting period. Visit this website for more info on how the previous year’s MU programs worked and deadlines for attesting: 

https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/2016ProgramRequirements.html

Now in 2017, Meaningful Use will become one of four components of the new “Merit-Based Incentive Payment System” or MIPS. MIPS is part of the bigger Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization or MACRA.² 

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) ended the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, which threatened clinicians participating in Medicare with potential payment penalties for 13 years.  

The MACRA program introduces two paths that Medicare providers can choose from for participation:

• Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) (providers apply for a special payment model program) or
• The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)  (a performance-based program)

Who Does this Affect?

Providers who are in an Advanced APM or who bill Medicare for more than $30,000 a year and care for more than 100 Medicare patients a year are affected. Providers with less than that are not affected and not part of the program.³  This includes:

• Physician
• Physician assistant
• Nurse practitioner
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Certified registered nurse anesthetist

Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs)

The Advanced APMs program allows certain providers to apply for the APM track. This gives added incentive payments to provide high-quality and cost-efficient care. See the APM website for more information on the special programs and how providers can apply:

https://qpp.cms.gov/learn/apms

The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)

Most Medicare Providers will be part of MIPS. They will earn a payment adjustment based on evidence-based and practice-specific quality data submitted. According to CMS, the Quality Payment Program policy will reform Medicare payments for more than 600,000 clinicians across the U.S.

Providers participating in the program in 2017 will submit their data by March 2018 and based on submission, their 2019 Medicare payments will be adjusted up, down, or not at all. 

MIPS is broken down into four categories and is setup so that the more Providers participate (and attest to), the higher score (and incentive) providers will get. A Medicare provider who does not participate at all (0%) may see up to 4% negative adjustment in 2019. A provider with a minimal amount of participation (e.g. submit one measure) may be able to avoid adjustment. For partial submission (submit the minimums for a partial year) they will see neutral or positive adjustments, and submit a full year and earn a positive payment adjustment.

If we take a quick look at how each category works:

•  Quality
•  Most Providers will report up to 6 quality measures (including an outcome type measure). Quality measures selected should be focused based on type of care and specialty as appropriate.
•  Reporting period must be a minimum of 90 days.
• There are over 250 quality measures available, be sure to check your health record software system to see which ones they support (can help gather data for you) when planning.
• Measures go across many specialties and problem sets:  For example, “Age Appropriate Screen Colonoscopy” – Report the percentage of patients greater than 85 years old seen by the Provider who received a colonoscopy screening Jan 1 to December 31.

•  Improvement Activities
• Most Providers will attest to completing a minimum of 4 improvement activities for at least 90 days.
• As of the writing of this blog, the CMS tools shows 92 activities to choose from.
• Activities range from care coordination, patient safety changes and beneficiary engagements.
• Examples: Join and participate (for a minimum of 6 months) in your States Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Or another example: Engage patients, family and caregivers in developing a plan of care and prioritizing their goals for action, documented in the certified EHR technology.

• Advancing Care Information
• Use a qualified (certified) product (or products) for a minimum of 90 days.
• There are two different programs to pick from depending on your Electronic Health Record Software Certification. For 2017, you will be able to use either a 2014 Certified Product (previously called Stage 2 MU Certification) or a 2015 certified product (certified for the MU Final Ruling criteria). Attest to a minimum of:

• E-Prescribing
• Provide Patient Access
• Send Summary of Care Records
• Receive Summary of Care Records
• Report up to 9 additional measures for bonus credits
• Cost
• No actions required: Cost will be computing from your claims
• The cost category will be calculated in 2017, but will not be used to determine your payment adjustment. In 2018, CMS will start using the cost category to determine your payment adjustment.

Medicare Providers will want to research the programs and decide their level of participation early in 2017. Full year participation would require making sure their Electronic Health Record system is setup for minimal data tracking and other required features like E-Prescribing and Direct Messaging.

References

1. 2017 Program requirements:

   https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/2017ProgramRequirements.html

2. MIPS and MACRA:

   http://www.impact-advisors.com/meaningful-use/mips-macra-mu-the-next-evolution-of-healthcare-payment-reform/#sthash.vMkVGSvN.dpuf

3. https://qpp.cms.gov/docs/Quality_Payment_Program_Overview_Fact_Sheet.pdf

4. MIPS Quality Payment Program Website: 

   https://qpp.cms.gov/measures/performance

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.  

Surescripts recently released its 2014 National Progress Report and one of the most startling findings is that only 1.4% of providers are enabled for Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS).¹

A much larger percent of pharmacies are setup to utilize EPCS. The national average of pharmacies enabled for EPCS is 74.9%.  A state by state comparison of the percent of pharmacies with EPCS capability, can be found on our EPCS page.

Even though EPCS is now legal in 49 states and D.C., its growth has been rather slow compared to the rates of non-controlled e-Prescribing. Surescripts’ report also found that 67%, or 1.2 billion, of all new prescriptions in 2014 were e-Prescribed. However, while there was a 400% increase in controlled substance e-Prescribing from 2013 to 2014, the number of controlled substance prescriptions was only 1.67 million.

Out of almost 70,000 total pharmacies and more than half a million e-Prescribing prescribers, the amount of pharmacies utilizing EPCS far surpasses the amount of prescribers.

While the statistics are surprising considering EPCS has been legal since 2010, there are several factors involved in the low percentage of prescribers. These include issues such as their software not being ready to meet the DEA requirements, as well as the number of steps that prescribers must go through to be setup for EPCS.

Though the steps involved may seem complex, e-Prescribing vendors are doing their best to make the process as smooth as possible for prescribers to utilize this important technology. MDToolbox has created a simple 4-step process that walks prescribers through completing the DEA requirements for EPCS that can be completed within minutes.* We also provide this EPCS solution as an integration option so that EHRs and other technology vendors can add the streamlined process to their existing workflow.

There are several benefits of EPCS including increasing patient safety and security, as well as reducing fraud and abuse. The easier it is for prescribers to setup and use EPCS, the more likely they will be to take advantage of the benefits and increase their usage.

Click here for more on EPCS for prescribers

Click here for more on EPCS for technology vendors

*Time varies based on token selection and results of identity verification

1.  2014 National Progress Report http://surescripts.com/news-center/national-progress-report-2014#public