Healthcare IT Update

E-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Allowed Under New Regs

Doing its part to hasten the EHR revolution, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an interim final rule on March 31, 2010 revising its regs to allow pharmacies, hospitals and physicians to use electronic prescriptions for controlled substances, known as Schedule II drugs, such as opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids.

This opens a door for practitioners to prove they are “meaningful EHR users” under the ARRA and HITECH and thus be eligible for incentive payments beginning next year. The DEA’s new regs align federal policies on controlled substances with the goal of moving the health care industry toward e-prescribing.

The new regs’ goal is to maintain a “closed system of controls on controlled substances dispensing,” says the DEA. Other benefits include reduction of paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense controlled substances, cutting down on prescription forgery, reducing errors caused by illegible…