Mandated E-Scripts for Scheduled Drugs
Written by Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Association Affairs, Andy Sandusky

March 7, 2019

Act 96 of 2018 requires electronic prescriptions for scheduled drugs II-V. The public policy intent is a very good one, which is to mitigate scheduled prescriptions falling into the wrong hands. It is likely that many POMA members already use e-scripts for their scheduled drug prescriptions. In these cases, Act 96 merely codifies in the law what you are already doing. However, what if you are a small independent POMA member? This was the exact concern expressed by a POMA member at last month’s meeting of the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine when it reviewed the Act.

If you are a smaller practice and have not purchased the software to write e-scripts for scheduled drugs, Act 96 could place an unfunded mandate on you. There is some time because the Act will not go into effect until October 24, 2019.

POMA is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) as it considers regulations administering Act 96. The Act does permit DOH to grant an exception based upon economic hardship. But the parameters around what this means will be defined by the ensuing regulations. POMA will seek clarity and share our findings and results.