Do controlled substances qualify as “permissible prescriptions” for meeting the eRx meaningful use objective under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs?
The term “permissible prescriptions” refers to the restrictions that were established by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on electronic prescribing (eRx) for controlled substances in Schedule II. (The substances in Schedule II can be found at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/e_cs_sched.pdf ). Any prescription not subject to these restrictions would be a permissible prescription. Although DOJ recently published an Interim Final Rule that allows the electronic prescribing of these substances, we were unable to incorporate these recent guidelines into the Final Rule for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Therefore, the determination of whether a prescription is a “permissible prescription” for purposes of the eRx meaningful use objective should be made based on the guidelines for prescribing Schedule II controlled substances in effect on or before January 13, 2010, when the notice of proposed rulemaking for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Progra
