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Idaho News: E-prescribing
Published in the March 2007 Idaho Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
The following is an article provided by the Idaho Board of Pharmacy to all the medical boards and other interested parties concerning e-prescribing and the transmission of prescriptions by facsimile. Feel free to share this information with any practitioners in your area.
First we need to clarify the misconception that it is legal to sign controlled substance prescriptions using an electronic signature. This includes all controlled substance prescriptions, Schedule II through V. At a recent National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities meeting, Drug Enforcement Administration indicated that it is reviewing the use of electronic signatures for controlled substances but such signatures are not allowed at this time.
A prescription for Schedule II substance may be transmitted by the practitioner or the practitioner’s agent to a pharmacy via facsimile equipment provided that the original written and signed prescription is presented to the pharmacist for review prior to the actual dispensing of the controlled substance.
The following prescriptions for a Schedule II substances may be dispensed upon receipt of the faxed prescription and the faxed copy shall serve as the original written prescription.
1. A Schedule II prescription for a resident in a long-term care facility.
2. A Schedule II prescription for a patient residing in a hospice certified by Medicare under Title XVIII or licensed by the state. The practitioner or the practitioner’s agent shall note on the prescription that the patient is a hospice patient. For drugs in Schedules III, IV, and V, a facsimile copy of a written, signed prescription transmitted directly by the prescribing practitioner to the pharmacy can serve as an original prescription. All federal and state laws and rules pertaining to written prescriptions for Schedule III, IV, and V drugs apply to facsimile transmitted prescriptions.
The receipt of a prescription for any non-controlled drug by facsimile transmission for dispensing purposes will be allowed from an authorized prescribing practitioner to a pharmacy only if the actual transmittal of the signed prescription is done by the prescribing practitioner or the practitioner’s authorized agent.
For the prescribing of non-controlled substances using an electronic signature, the Board of Pharmacy defers to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act under Idaho Code 28-50-101. In this section an “electronic signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or logically associated with, a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. In this case, the electronic signature attached to a prescription. If a law requires a signature, which is required on a prescription, an electronic signature satisfies the law.
Both the practitioner and the pharmacy must agree to send and receive a prescription electronically. Such an agreement to conduct a transaction electronically is required by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. If the pharmacy accepts and fills the electronic prescription, then the pharmacy has fulfilled an agreement with the practitioner as to that prescription. The Act also provides that a party who has agreed to conduct a transaction by electronic means may refuse to conduct other transactions by electronic means. Consequently, if the pharmacy does not agree with the form and content of the electronic prescription, then the pharmacy is advised not to fill it. In some instances, pharmacies may call to verify or clarify prescription content.
