Is Your Agency Prepared for The Upcoming EPCS Mandate?
Stemming from the ongoing opioid crisis many states have put in motion regulations to mandate Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS). Knowing when and how your Agency will be affected will be critical to operations, as is understanding how a complete EHR like Fusion will help you achieve compliance now and in the future.
Why do Agencies need EPCS?
As a result of Federal legislation, EPCS will be mandated for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans starting January 1, 2021. In addition to the federal mandate, many state legislatures developed their own EPCS directives to regulate how all controlled substances are prescribed. These new regulations are state-specific and will affect correctional agencies differently. It will be important to understand your local regulations and what you need to do in response. Dependent on your State’s regulations you may not be able to write paper prescriptions for Schedule 2 through 5 substances.
Is my State requiring EPCS?
As of October 2020, eleven (11) States already require their healthcare agencies, including correctional agencies, that prescribe medications to utilize EPCS. These include:
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Iowa
- Maine
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Virginia
Starting January 1, 2021, eleven (11) additional states will be mandated to utilize EPCS. Including:
- Arkansas
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nevada
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Wyoming
Starting July 1, 2021, four (4) more states will mandate EPCS. Including:
- Colorado
- Florida
- Kansas
- Washington State
Starting January 1, 2022, two (2) States will be mandated to utilize EPCS. Including:
- California
- Maryland
For all these states, including those without current mandates, the time to act should be now. Choosing an Electronic Health Record such as Fusion’s can help you achieve compliance while delivering countless other benefits.
How can Fusion help your Agency meet your State’s EPCS Mandate?
Fusion provides a comprehensive electronic health record enveloping all aspects of patient care including EPCS and an eMAR. Our EHR allows care providers to prescribe controlled substances electronically which secures against the occurrence of forged or stolen prescriptions by authenticating prescribers and increasing security. Our solution links prescribers to one DEA registration number to ensure they are the only user signing electronic prescriptions.
Fusion’s solution will increase productivity and is the most comprehensive platform for provider identity proofing, supervised enrollment of credentials, two-factor authentication, and auditing and reporting to help agencies meet the DEA requirements for EPCS. Various biometric devices can be utilized for EPCS, such as barcode scanning. Even if your Agency is in a state with no EPCS mandate, these features are a built-in value of our solution.
Fusion elegantly simplifies EPCS workflows by:
- Integrating directly into the e-prescribing workflows
- Making two-factor authentication fast and convenient through DEA-compliant authentication solutions
- Automating authentication modality presentation clinicians are only prompted for what is available and allowed
- Operating in any SSO environment as a stand-alone secure signing solution
Call Fusion today to discuss your Agency’s current and future needs, and how our solution can help your operations become efficient, effective, and compliant. With a wide range of features and functionality, Fusion can help you with the EPCS mandate and much, much more.