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What does DEA expect from electronic prescriptions?

What must you know about electronic prescriptions. Outlining the rules of submitting the electronic prescriptions from providers holding DEA controlled substance licenses, and the role of the partitioners and all authorized agents involved in communicating controlled substance prescriptions to pharmacies have been discussed in this blog.

Physicians prescribing controlled substance drugs also need to verify the prescriptions to ensure that drug diversion is not taking place. They must follow the set DEA controlled substance regulations. The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, mandates DEA to control manufacturing, distributing and dispensing controlled substances. To ensure that the controlled substances are being monitored at the point of sale, the regulated communications of prescriptions from DEA controlled substance regulations provides to pharmacies ensures this safety.
 
Prescribers cannot delegate the medical determination of the need for controlled substances. Prescribers working in the usual course of their professional practice can issue prescriptions. Providers cannot delegate their signatory approval. Their approval of elements of the prescription and ensuring that all required elements of the prescription include the name of the patients with complete address. The name of the prescribed drug with strength and quantity and direction of use. DEA controlled substance licenses and DEA number of the issuing practitioner.

The agents that can deliver the prescription are associates having a prescriber assent to act on behalf of the practitioner having a fiduciary relationship with the prescriber. It could be anyone the prescriber’s secretary, assistant and other delegated agents. Delegate agents can transmit prescriptions for schedule III, IV, and V controlled substances.

Pharmacies are allowed to dispense Schedule III, IV, and V controlled substances from a written, oral or faxed prescription.

Patients are only permitted to transmit written prescriptions. Prescribers or delegated agents can transmit oral or faxed along with written controlled substance prescriptions. All oral and faxed prescriptions barring the signatory approval must carry all the other elements of DEA controlled substance regulations. However, dispensing of schedule II-controlled substances drugs can be done from a written prescription. However, emergency oral prescriptions need a prescription from the prescriber and need a written prescription within seven days. Long term schedule II patience can be faxed by a delegated agent.

In the case of electronic prescription, four primary DEA requirements must be met. The electronic prescriptions need to come from licensed prescribers. The office of the prescriber should control the theft of the electronic prescriber’s ID. The system should screen prescriber actions so that they cannot deny later that the authorized prescription has not been issued by them. All prescription records should meet judicial system standards to ensure legal actions so that a large number of witnesses are not required later for verification.

The system should prevent any alteration of the prescription after its creation and also must disallow pharmacists from creating prescriptions.

Electronic prescriptions are supported by Medicare Modernization Act (2003) and Medicare Part D plans to support the electronic prescription system. Prescription legitimacy must be verified by pharmacies. The electronic prescription system has six level e-prescription system. These levels have reduced medication error increasing patient safety.

The DEA controlled substance regulations on electronic prescriptions can be quite challenging and confusing to follow with a likely chance of making errors and allowing unknowingly scopes of diversion. If you wish to prevent diversions of controlled substances in your organizations, you must ensure that all DEA controlled substance licenses are in place. How will you ensure that the rest of the compliances are being followed, you need someone to control the system from within. Someone who is experienced and knows where the faults are likely to happen. Someone with the experience that Jack Teitelman has. Jack has 26 years of experience in the Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent. Now retired from active service he is the CEO of the Titan Group. The agency is devoted to the field of helping organizations dealing with controlled substances to ensure that no drug diversion takes place within the system. You can reach out for consultation and training to the Titan Group, https://titangroupdea.com/ to ensure that you are keeping all the regulations suggested by the DEA in check.

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