Thousands of providers missed the March 27 New York state deadline requiring that all prescriptions be created electronically, Health Data Management reports.
Not all electronic health records that New York physicians use are able to handle e-prescriptions, nor have all doctors completed the lengthy process allowing them to use EHRs to prescribe controlled substances. The state set up a waiver system for providers who can demonstrate that:
- Complying would create an undue financial burden
- Technological limitations are "not reasonably within the control of the prescriber"
- Other exceptional circumstances exist
As of April 1, 4,165 providers had requested waivers; 1,610 were granted due to technology issues. That number, however, could undercount the number of individual physicians unable to electronically prescribe controlled substances because hospital systems are treated as one entity, rather than counting the individual docs working for that system.
Mount Sinai and Montefiore are among the large health systems granted waivers.
In 2015, the state's medical society sought and received a one-year delay in the mandate, arguing that not all EHR vendors were in compliance with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rules for e-prescribing of controlled substances.
Surescripts reports that EHR vendors serving 96 percent of prescribers in New York have that certification, though some smaller vendors still do not.
New York became the first state to mandate e-prescribing, a means to thwart opioid abuse and impose penalties for doctors who don't comply. Additionally, the U.S. Senate passed a bill in March that includes several initiatives to curb opioid abuse.
To learn more:
- read the Health Data Management article