01/27/2016

E-Prescribing Becomes Law March 27

Effective March 27, 2016, a new law will require nurse practitioners, midwives, dentists, podiatrists, physicians, physician assistants and optometrists in New York State to issue prescriptions electronically directly to a pharmacy, with limited exceptions. The law will not require a prescriber to issue a prescription electronically when: 

• Electronic prescribing is not available due to temporary technological or electronic failure;
• The prescriber has a waiver granted by the New York State Commissioner of Health;
• The prescriber reasonably determines that it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner; or,
• The prescription will be dispensed at a pharmacy located outside New York State.

WAIVER: Only veterinarians are excluded by nature of their license. All other practitioners are required to issue electronic prescriptions unless granted a waiver or meeting one of the limited situational exceptions above. Practitioners who are not veterinarians may be excluded if they meet the criteria defined within Article 2A Section 281 of the Public Health Law and Section 80.64 Title 10 Part 80 Rules and Regulations on Controlled Substances.

Complete the steps below to access the Electronic Prescribing Waiver (EPW) application in the NYS Health Commerce System (HCS):

1. Log into the HCS at https://commerce.health.state.ny.us
2. Under “My Content” click on “All Applications”
3. Click on “E”
4. Scroll down to Electronic Prescribing Waivers and double click to open the application. You may also click on the “+” sign to add this application under “My Applications” on the left side of the Home screen.

The new law requires electronic prescribing for all types of medications (controlled substances and non-controlled substances) and for syringes and other medical devices dispensed at a pharmacy in New York. 

Information about this law (Public Health Law §281) is available on the New York State Department of Health website, www.health.ny.gov/professionals/narcotic/.