Mandate Madness – 3 States Propose e-Prescribing Legislature in the First Two Months of 2017
Posted: February 28th, 2017 | Author: Jodi | Filed under: In the News, Public Policy | Tags: Connecticut e-Prescribing Bill, Connecticut Opioid Bill, Connecticut Opioid Law, Connecticut Opioid Legislation, Connecticut Opioid Proposal, e-Prescribing, electronic prescribing, Electronic Prescription Law, Electronic Prescriptions, EPCS, Maine e-Prescribing Mandate, Maine Mandate, Maine Opioid Law, Maine Opioid Prescribing Mandate, Maine Opioid Prescriptions, Mandatory e-Prescribing, Mandatory Electronic Prescribing, Opioid Abuse, Opioid Crisis, Opioid Drugs, Opioid Epidemic, Pennsylvania e-Prescribing Bill, Pennsylvania Opioid Bill, Pennsylvania Opioid Law, Pennsylvania Opioid Legislation, Pennsylvania Opioid Prescriptions, State e Prescribing Law, State e Prescribing Mandate, State Opioid Law, State Opioid Mandates, Virginia e-Prescribing Law, Virginia e-Prescribing Mandate, Virginia Opioid Bill, Virginia Opioid Law, Virginia Opioid Legislation, Virginia Opioid Mandate, Virginia State Mandate | No Comments »
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New York will soon be celebrating their one year e-Prescribing mandate anniversary at the end of March and on the heels of this inaugural, impactful mandate, it’s exciting to see other states hopping on the e-Prescribing bandwagon. Not only did Maine announce its own e-Prescribing legislation that’s effective in just four months, but since the start of 2017, three additional states have introduced similar mandates. One common denominator most prevalent to note, however, is the overwhelming commitment by each state to combat the opioid crisis in order to decrease overdose death rates and improve patient safety overall.
Let’s review the three states that have recently proposed e-Prescribing legislation.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania experienced an astounding 3,264 opioid overdose deaths in 2015, a 20.1% increase from 2014. With the rising, devastating numbers in tow, Pennsylvania has decided to take further action and follow suit with New York and Maine.
On February 6, 2017, Pennsylvania State Senator Richard Alloway and Pennsylvania State Representative Tedd Nesbit announced the introduction of legislation that will require all opioid prescriptions such as OxyContin®, Percocet®, and Norco® to be e-Prescribed in Pennsylvania. The proposed bill will not only require controlled substances to be sent electronically, but will also enforce Schedule II medications not to be refilled by the pharmacy. For Schedules III and IV prescriptions, the bill requires that such prescriptions, “shall not be filled or refilled more than six months after the date thereof or be refilled more than five times after the date of the prescription unless renewed by the practitioner.â€
The state is committed to a fast turnaround on implementing this legislation and as a result, especially for the protection of patients, the General Assembly is being urged to pass this vital legislation before June 30, 2017.
Connecticut
Yet another state devastated by the increasing drug overdose deaths from opioids, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy recently announced an increase in state funding to address opioid addiction and also introduced a series of legislative proposals, including one that will require all opioid prescriptions to be electronically prescribed. Governor Malloy not only highlighted the reduction in fraud that e-Prescribing can accomplish relative to curbing drug diversion, but also specifically noted the benefits of being able to track prescription data as a means to document both prescriber and patient information for electronic transactions.
“A pad of paper doesn’t come from a particular site. It is hard to trace,†Malloy said. “If you do it electronically, you can instantaneously trace, and it’s easier for us to document who is getting the drug, and who is prescribing the drug.â€
As part of Governor Malloy’s proposal, a bill that outlines giving patients the ability to include a form in their medical file that indicates that they do not want opioid treatment has also been included. With value based care underway, this serves as another way to encourage patients to make their own health care and treatment decisions for what they deem works best for them.
Like Pennsylvania, the protection of patients across Connecticut is of utmost importance to the state, therefore Governor Malloy is pushing for this imperative legislation to be effective as of January 1, 2018.
Virginia
In Virginia, it has been estimated that 1,000 people died from overdose in 2016, a 33% increase from the prior year. Moving quickly, the General Assembly of Virginia unanimously approved legislature on January 26, 2017 requiring any prescription containing an opiate to be issued as an electronic prescription and will also prohibit any pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless the prescription is issued electronically.
On February 23rd, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed five bills to address the opioid epidemic, including the mandate for all opioid prescriptions to be prescribed electronically by July 1, 2020. It will also create a working group to study how best to implement this change.
What’s unique about this legislature, however, is that it all began with a practicing dentist who happens to be a state delegate for Virginia.
“We have all seen the tragic headlines that highlight the devastating impact that opioid addiction has had – and continues to have – on families and communities throughout the Commonwealth and the Nation,†said Delegate Todd Pillion. “This is an issue that I see not only as a legislator, but as a prescriber myself.â€
As such, Delegate Pillion decided to utilize his profound, and heartfelt, voice to address the opioid epidemic that is sweeping our nation at alarming rates. Having personal experience under his belt, he was responsible for the original proposed e-Prescribing mandate in Virginia.
Where do other states stand?
With 3 states proposing legislature in the first 60 days of 2017, we anticipate more states to follow. As many individuals involved in the aforementioned state legislations have mentioned, it just makes plain sense to prescribe the most addictive, but necessary, medication through e-Prescribing. It is finally, and rightfully, being viewed as an optimal tool to overcome this drug crisis.
Electronically prescribing opioids will not only decrease drug overdose deaths and increase patient safety, but it will also:
- Combat the rising issue of prescription fraud within a dental practice, including misuse of a dentist’s DEA number, forged signatures, and stolen prescription pads by patients or an Insider Threat.
- Allow a prescriber to query a patient’s medication history at point of care in order to determine if they are “doctor shoppingâ€, or visiting multiple prescribers strictly to receive opioid prescriptions.
- Add to patient convenience by reducing wait times in pharmacies.
- Increase patient medication pick-up adherence. Between 28% and 31% of all paper prescriptions either never make it to the pharmacy or are not picked up at all.
Stay tuned for more states that will undoubtedly be proposing similar legislature in order to work together toward a common goal for the safety of patients overall.
Sources: Virginia Gazette; Bearing Drift; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CBS Local; WNPOR
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.