E-prescribing of controlled substances soars

The Physician Group Incentive Program made quick work of its 2020 goal to encourage more doctors to use electronic prescribing for controlled substances. The submission of electronic prescriptions for controlled substances among doctors participating in PGIP increased to nearly 73% during the second quarter of 2020 — exceeding the annual goal of seeing 64.6% of prescriptions prescribed electronically.

Looking at the total e-prescribing rate (both controlled and non-controlled substances), the number of prescriptions being prescribed electronically have hit an all-time high of 87%, some of this likely driven by social distancing and telemedicine use.

Electronic prescribing rates for controlled substances have increased more than 1,000% since the incentive launched in late 2015 and are catching up with the rates for other prescriptions. Electronic prescribing for controlled substances is more complicated because it requires a dual authentication for increased security.

The Blue Cross e-prescribing initiative will be retired this year due to a state mandate for electronic prescriptions that takes effect in October 2021.

Why e-prescribing matters
E-prescribing improves patient safety and fights fraud and abuse. On the patient safety front, using an electronic system for managing all prescriptions allows physicians to check and be alerted to duplicate therapies, dangerous interactions with other medications and conditions, such as allergies. It also builds a drug history for the patient in their electronic medical records and reduces errors associated with paper scripts, such as illegible handwriting, misunderstood abbreviations or unclear dosage/day supply.

These problems are even more crucial to avoid for controlled substances, when someone might improperly alter a script to obtain a larger dosage or quantity. When a pharmacy gets an electronic script, they know exactly what to fill, with the possibility for error or fraud largely removed from the process.

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