Practice Fusion: Using an Electronic Health Record (EHR) to meet Alaska state mandates for certified e-prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS).
Practice Fusion’s EPCS system:
- Surescripts certified for Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (CII-CV)
- Fully integrated with your EHR and existing e-prescribing workflow
- Offers a streamlined process for fast identity verification
- Provides patient-specific formularies and Drug & Allergy interaction checks
- Automatically receive Electronic Prior Authorizations (ePA) for prescriptions
- Includes comprehensive reporting modules
Alaska’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program registers prescriptions of Schedule II-IV controlled substances. Examples: narcotics (hydrocodone), tranquilizers (alprazolam, diazepam), stimulants (methylphenidate). The database is a tool for both patient safety — prescribers can see whether patients are getting prescriptions from other providers — and for tracking overall prescribing trends.
All Alaska licensed prescribers with a DEA registration and all Alaska licensed pharmacists who dispense must use the PDMP to review a patient’s prescription history each time before prescribing a federally scheduled II or III controlled substance.
To register for the Alaska PDMP, visit https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/PrescriptionDrugMonitoringProgram.aspx.
e-Prescribing allows a prescriber to use an EHR to:
- Electronically access a patient’s prescription benefit.
- Electronically access a patient’s medication history.
- Electronically route the prescription to the patient’s choice of pharmacy.
e-Prescribing provides the following consumer benefits:
- More accurate prescriptions.
- Improved patient safety.
- Lower healthcare costs for everyone involved.
e-Prescribing provides the following provider benefits:
- Reduction in pharmacy staff time.
- Increase in patient compliance and filled prescriptions.
- Improved relations with patients.
e-Prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) allows a prescriber to:
- e-Prescribe scheduled drugs right from your EHR.
- Use one workflow for all prescriptions.
- Minimize patient wait times at pharmacies.
- Reduce unnecessary office visits.