Excellent post from Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston relating to controlled substances and using e-prescribing...I think every physician who uses e-prescribing has the same legitimate complaint...everything else is done via the computer and and for controlled substances, put down the computer and pick up the paper! It certainly has been a 
deterrent as well to get more physicians on the bandwagon...nice the test is going on, but for 3 years? The DEA just doesn't want to give up their paper...when in fact a data audit trail can be much more efficient and immediate...and the idea of sending the letter to Congress is excellent....I'm sure we will hear more about the test program as time goes on...and maybe with a little luck it maybe it could be expanded and perhaps even the time element of the testing period could be reduced if everything works to the satisfaction of the DEA....BD
It is currently illegal to e-Prescribe any controlled substance -- pain killer, sedative, anti-anxiety drug etc. Approximately 1/3 of all Emergency Department prescriptions are of this type. Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health was able to get a DEA exemption to test one site (Berkshire Medical Center using Meditech software) to e-prescribe controlled substances. The DEA wants this to be a three year pilot , which illustrates how resistant to change the DEA can be. I've just signed a letter along with many health care standards and pharmacy leaders urging Congress to get involved and accelerate the ability to e-Prescribe controlled substances as a modification to Medicare Part D standards.
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