As of March 27, 2016, New York pharmacists may only accept electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.
According to an article published by Pharmacy Times, “EPCS software is being used to minimize medication errors, prevent prescription theft, minimize forgery, and integrate prescriptions directly into a patient’s medical record. The use of e-prescribing will also stop retired practitioners, who still have prescription pads, from being able to continue prescribing through hard copies.”
Five states – Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and New York – now have 90 percent or more of their pharmacies EPCS-enabled.
An EPCS whitepaper written by DrFirst states that, “Retail pharmacies exhibited accelerated adoption of the technology necessary to facilitate controlled substance e-prescribing in 2015. Eighty-two percent of U.S. retail pharmacies are now EPCS-enabled, a 21 percent increase over 2014. Further, almost all states have at least 60 percent of pharmacies EPCS-enabled, and more than half of all states have more than 80 percent of retail pharmacies ready and able to receive and process EPCS orders.”
Many of CarePoint’s GuardianRx users are already utilizing SureScripts for receiving thier electronic prescriptions. SureScripts allows health care providers in all care settings – ambulatory, acute, post-acute, long term, and specialty – to manage prescriptions electronically, making prescribing more convenient and efficient.
The latest mandate for controlled substances taking effect in New York shows that with pressure mounting on law enforcement, legislators and healthcare providers to stop prescription drug abuse, EPCS, prescription drug monitoring programs and other best practices may finally become mainstream.
CarePoint led the way by being one of the first in the audit and certification process for EPCS, and has implemented all PMP programs that are necessary for GuardianRx users. As your pharmacy system partner, CarePoint continues to keep up with the demands of the evolving pharmacy practice management.
If you are not currently utilizing our SureScripts integration with GuardianRx, contact our Support Team by phone at 800.774.1361 or by email at support@carepoint.com for more information.