Dive Brief:
- Vermont is the last state to legalize electronic prescribing of controlled substances.
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed e-prescribing of controlled substances in 2010, requiring systems and parties involved to be third-party authenticated or certified and meet specific technology standards.
- An American Journal of Managed Care 2014 study using Surescripts data showed the number total e-prescribed controlled substances increased from 1,535 to 52,423 between July 2012 and December 2013, and the percentage of pharmacies enabled for EPCS increased from 8,768 (13%) to 20,498 (30%).
Dive Insight:
In May, Surescripts published a progress report that noted the health information network processed 6.5 billion healthcare data transactions last year, more than the number of transactions processed by American Express and PayPal.
Tom Skelton, Surescript's CEO, said "throwing out the prescription pad" and using electronic prescribing will help abate potential fraud and drug abuse. The company launched a new online tool (www.getepcs.com) to assist physicians in adopting and using e-prescribing technology.