Whether prescribed legitimately or obtained illegally, prescription painkillers are being abused at an alarming rate and with devastating consequences.
More than 1,000 Virginians lost their lives to opioid abuse in 2015 alone, a 22 percent increase since just 2013i. To combat the public health emergency that is the state's opioid abuse crisis, Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed HB 2165 into law on February 23, 2017, which mandates the electronic prescribing of opioid medications in Virginia beginning July 1, 2020.
The electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), including prescription opioids, became legal nationwide in August of 2015. To date, Maine, New York and now Virginia have legislation in place requiring EPCS, but other states seem poised to follow suit. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Illinois and Texas are among those that recently introduced proposed legislation mandating e-prescribing for opioid medications.
As more and more states embrace EPCS, technology will continue to play an increasingly critical role in the nation's opioid crisis. By digitizing the prescribing process, providers can improve patient safety, reduce doctor shopping and minimize the risk of stolen or fraudulent prescriptions. Additionally, EPCS can improve workflows, prescription accuracy, compliance rates and both provider and patient satisfaction. EPCS deters diversion and abuse while simultaneously allowing patients who legitimately need treatment to get timely and safe access to their medication
Although 60 percent of Virginia's NON-controlled substance medications were electronically prescribed in 2013, there are a different set of regulations that apply when e-prescribing opioids and other controlled substances. These include a number of DEA requirements that are designed to track and audit prescribers' EPCS orders, including:
• The employed electronic health record and/or e-prescribing applications must be certified as DEA-compliant
• Pharmacies must use software certified as DEA-compliant to accept controlled substance e-prescriptions
• Prescribers must complete an identity proofing process
• Prescribers must use two-factor authentication when writing an EPCS prescription
As a practicing emergency physician in Massachusetts, I've seen the power and potential of EPCS first-hand. I've also seen how critical it is to partner with the right solutions providers to ensure a smooth, compliant implementation process. Opioid overdoses claim the lives of 91 people each day. As a caregiver, becoming EPCS-enabled -- including having a trusted security partner in the process -- has never been more important.
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i Rudd RA, Seth P, David F, Scholl L. Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2010–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1445–1452. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm655051e1
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