E-Prescribing – What is it?
If you are a constant reader of health care news and the current events surrounding health care, it’s likely you will start hearing more about e-prescribing in the upcoming months. E-prescribing is the electronic prescribing of controlled substances via health information technology (IT) systems.
A pending Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rule, permitting the electronic prescribing of controlled substances, is expected to give healthcare providers added incentives to adopt health IT systems. This rule is set to take effect on June 1, 2010.
The new rule would over-rule the current barrier—most prescribers did not want to maintain a separate paper-and-fax system alongside the new e-prescribing system. For many physicians, it has been easier to avoid e-prescribing and stay with a single, very simple, work flow.
The new DEA rule is to make prescription workflow for controlled and standard drugs more seamless and downplays the difficulties faced by physicians and pharmacists. Difficulties include such things as identity proofing, audit trails, and certification of e-prescribing software.
One of the most pressing questions is regarding identity protection and information protection for the consumer. The program is being offered on the premise of how an ATM bankcard works; it includes two-factor protection.
“These controls need not be feared,” said Michelle Ferritto, chief of the regulatory drafting unit in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Office of Diversion Control. “It’s not that much more difficult than using your ATM,” she said, “To withdraw cash a person must enter their pin number and insert their ATM bankcard, an example of two-factor authentication. We would probably be very uncomfortable if anyone could walk up to an ATM and just punch in a 4-digit code, and money spit out. That’s our same concern on electronic prescribing of controlled substances.”
Most believe physicians will adopt e-prescribing much more rapidly when there is a singular workflow. The DEA rule will go into effect at about the same the Office of the National Coordinator finalizes its criteria for EHR (Electronic Health Records).
Providers must comply with the EHR rules before they can receive federal health IT incentives. The timing of the two programs will allow an additional push for physicians that are upgrading their systems to qualify for financial incentives to also purchase e-prescribing software.
E-prescribing is the up-and-coming next technological advancement in the medical industry and it will have an impact on the health insurance industry as well. There are, however, several hurdles to overcome first, so pay attention to the health insurance and industry news for updates.
