Use of e-prescribing has continued to rise, with 788 million prescriptions routed electronically in 2012 compared with 570 million in 2011, a 38% increase according to the latest National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Safe-Rx Rankings.

NABP recently amended the Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (Model Act) in its effort to assist the boards of pharmacy as they work to protect the public health. The Model...

A new toolset released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) can assist independent pharmacies with the implementation of e-prescribing and may also provide useful guidance to those pharmacies already using e-prescribing. The toolset for independent pharmacies consists...

Since Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued the interim final rule for electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), a “modest number” of EPCSs have been transmitted across the Surescripts network, reports the company, which is the operator of the largest e-prescription...

Surescripts, operator of the largest e-prescription network that connects prescribers’ e-prescribing software to pharmacies, reports that 94% of retail pharmacies are connected and receiving e-prescribing. Surescripts also indicates in a press release that 52% of office-based physicians across the country...

In a Federal Register notice (PDF), DEA emphasizes that third-party audits of software applications for Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) must encompass all applicable requirements in DEA regulations, including security, and must address “processing integrity” as set forth in...

Systems for electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) used at Supervalu pharmacies in Virginia and California are available for use after successfully meeting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) certification requirements. Supervalu pharmacies in those states are the first to accept e-prescriptions...

A recent study analyzed the rate of error in different electronic prescribing systems and offered recommendations on improving such systems to decrease errors. A clinician panel studied 3,850 e-prescriptions generated in three states over a four-week period in 2008. The...

Since federal support was offered in 2008, 234,000 prescribers are using electronic prescribing, up 216% from 74,000, according to the latest "National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare," published by Surescripts, operator of the largest e-prescription network that connects...

Surescripts has released “Guidelines for Creating High-Quality Electronic Prescriptions In The Ambulatory Healthcare Setting,” (PDF) a document that “attempts to set the measurement standard against which electronic prescriptions can be assessed for accuracy and completeness” as noted on the Surescripts...

Originally published in the December 2010 NABP Newsletter Since new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations for controlled substance e-prescribing took effect June 1, 2010, state boards of pharmacy are offering guidance to licensees regarding DEA e-prescribing software requirements and the...

On April 5, 2010, NABP reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Interim Final Rule with Request for Comment on electronic prescriptions for controlled substances was published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2010, and should take effect June...

The number of electronic prescriptions increased 181% from 2008 to 2009, according to the 2009 National Progress Report on E-Prescribing, published by Surescripts, operator of the largest e-prescription network that connects prescribers’ e-prescribing software to pharmacies. Over 190 million e-prescriptions...

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Interim Final Rule on electronic prescriptions for controlled substances was published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2010, and should take effect June 1, 2010, subject to Congressional review. The regulations would allow prescribers...

The Task Force on Electronic Prescribing Software Standards and Data Storage met September 15-16, 2009. Task force members reviewed their charge and accepted it as follows: evaluate the current regulatory and operational status of the electronic transmission of prescriptions and...

Reprinted from the October 2009 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. 1. Computer-generated prescriptions that are either printed or faxed must be signed by the practitioner. If the printed and signed prescription is to be given to the patient to...

Reprinted from the July 2009 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. As previously reported, in June 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a rule that would permit electronic prescribing for all schedules of controlled substances. The public comment period...

Reprinted from the July 2009 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. The Board office is constantly fielding questions from both prescribers and pharmacists regarding computer-generated prescriptions in one form or another. Hopefully the following will clarify some of the confusion:...

Resolution No. 105-1-09 Title: Electronic Prescribing – Software Standards and Data Storage Action: Passed Whereas, the electronic transmission of prescriptions and prescription data can improve the communication between pharmacists and other health care practitioners; and Whereas, the use of electronic...

Published in the March 2009 Kansas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have discussed electronic prescriptions for controlled substances for several years. DEA proposed regulations that would provide practitioners with the...

Reprinted from the January 2009 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. The Board frequently receives questions from pharmacists concerning the legal validity of controlled substance prescriptions that have been electronically “signed.” Such prescriptions may have the electronically captured signature of the...

Published in the January 2009 Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Electronic signatures for noncontrolled prescriptions are considered valid. E-mailed Schedule III to V controlled prescriptions must contain a manual signature to be valid at this time. If they are...

Published in the November 2008 Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter On June 27, 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published proposed rules for the electronic prescribing of controlled substances. The comment period for these rules ended on September 25,...

Published in the September 2008 New Mexico Board of Pharmacy Newsletter An electronically generated controlled substance prescription that is not manually signed by the practitioner, but instead is electronically signed, is not valid. A written prescription for a controlled substance...

Reprinted from the July 2008 New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Public Affairs published new standards for e-prescribing in the Federal Register on April 2, 2008. The final rule does not...

Reprinted from the July 2008 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Several laws were passed this year that will have an impact on the practice of pharmacy. Most of the pharmacy provisions in Chapter 321 of 2008 Session Law were drafted...

Published in the June 2008 Vermont Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Is it legal for a licensed prescriber to create electronic prescriptions for Schedule III through V drugs on his or her e-prescribing software and transmit them electronically to either the...

Reprinted form the April 2008 New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. New Jersey Senate Bill 1604, signed by Governor Jon Corzine on January 4, 2008, amends the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act to allow the use of electronic order...

Published in the March 2008 Delaware State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter There have been a number of recent inquiries and some confusion regarding the validity of electronically transmitted controlled substance prescriptions from a practitioner’s office to a pharmacy. E-prescribed controlled...

Published in the February 2008 Oregon State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Considering the recent influx of questions and comments from pharmacists, physicians, and other prescribing practitioners regarding Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) current position on electronic transmission of controlled substance (CS)...

Published in the January 2008 Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Mid-Level Practitioner Update: Physician assistants (PA) may now prescribe for up to a 30-day supply of Schedule III to V if they have a mid-level Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)...

Published in the November 2007 Alabama State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Board is aware that multiple Web site recruiters are making phone calls and sending faxes regarding electronic prescriptions, prescription faxes, and prescribing system schemes to increase prescription volumes...

Published in the May 2007 Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Due to the number of pharmacists and prescribers calling the Board office about prescription format, signatures on written prescriptions, and the actual content of the prescriptions, it is time...

Reprinted from the April 2007 New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. The New Jersey Board of Pharmacy was recently asked to consider a proposal that would involve the generation of electronic prescriptions, including those for Schedule III-V controlled dangerous substances,...

Reprinted from the April 2007 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Some pharmacies use systems that allow prescription orders to be scanned into computer systems. The scanned image is then used to process the prescription and to verify its validity. Pharmacists...

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....

Published in the February 2007 Missouri Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Pharmacists have questioned the validity of prescriptions received electronically from the Division of Medical Services (Medicaid). These prescriptions, which bear a CyberAccess logo and state seal, are generated by physicians...

Reprinted from the January 2007 Montana Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Computer-generated prescriptions, electronic prescribing, and e-signatures are now a reality in daily pharmacy practice. The Board of Pharmacy has adopted rules (24.174.523) that allow for secure electronic signature and transmission...

Reprinted from the January 2007 New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Confusion has arisen regarding “electronic prescriptions” that are printed and given to a patient. Such prescriptions are considered “written” rather than electronic if presented to a pharmacist for dispensing...

Reprinted from the January 2007 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Board staff frequently receives questions about “electronic prescriptions.” For example, a common question is as follows: is a prescription that is electronically generated still valid if the prescriber prints it...

Published in the January 2007 Washington State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is working to permit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS). They have identified some performance standards. The standards include: Authentication: The ability to confirm authenticity...

Published in the October 2006 Washington State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter How are you doing with technology today? Electronic prescription issues seem to be on everybody’s agenda. The federal government is actively promoting electronic prescription system standards through the Medicare...

Reprinted from the July 2006 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Electronic prescribing is an increasing fact of life in pharmacy practice today. Many pharmacists are confused, though, about whether or not and under what circumstances e-prescribing is permissible for...

Reprinted from the January 2006 New Jersey Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. The requirements for prescriptions transmitted by facsimile or electronic means are not the same, as detailed in N.J.A.C. 13:39-7.10 and 13:39-7.11. Prescriptions transmitted by facsimile must meet all the...

Resolution No. 100-3-04 Title: Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions Action: Passed Whereas, NABP and organizations such as the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Leapfrog Group, have recommended the elimination of handwritten prescriptions and adoption of computer printed or electronic prescriptions...

Resolution No. 97-2-01 TITLE: Task Force to Study the Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions and Prescription Information via Electronic Devices Action: Passed Whereas, the electronic transmission of prescriptions and prescription information is an increasing activity in the practice of pharmacy; and...