The American Medical Association is calling on Congress to require HHS to adopt national standards for electronic prescribing by the end of 2009, according to proposals outlined last week at an e-prescribing forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Health Data Management reports (Health Data Management, 5/9).
AMA had been seen as the largest barrier to enacting e-prescribing legislation that would link Medicare reimbursements with using the technology, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 5/9).
Details of Proposal
AMA pushed for a two-year transition period for doctors and pharmacies to adopt the new technology if a Medicare e-prescribing mandate is approved (Health Data Management, 5/9).
The leading congressional proposal would give Medicare physicians until 2011 to implement e-prescribing before facing financial penalties (CongressDaily, 5/9).
The association also requested that the Drug Enforcement Administration eliminate its restrictions on e-prescribing for controlled substances. AMA estimates that controlled substances account for 20% of all prescriptions.
CMS Standards
In April, CMS issued a final rule to adopt three standards supporting formulary and benefits, medication history and fill-status notification for e-prescribing.
AMA now is pushing for quick action on three additional standards that would allow prescribers to "efficiently transmit accurate and complete instructions for medications being prescribed, use standard medication terminology and use real-time prior authorization," Steven Stack, AMA trustee and chair of emergency medicine at St. Joseph Hospital East in Lexington, Ky., said (Health Data Management, 5/9).
AMA did not provide a specific dollar amount that Congress should provide to physicians to facilitate e-prescribing adoption (CongressDaily, 5/9).