AMA Calls for E-Scripts Standardization
Ongoing efforts are underway across the healthcare community to encourage adoption of e-prescribing. In furthering this effort, the American Medical Association (AMA) is urging Congress to require that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) complete the remaining technical standards for national use of the tool. News of the pressure by the AMA was reported by Health Data Management.
Three standards were already endorsed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Those describe medication history, fill status, and benefits and formulary with respect to e-prescribing.
Three remaining standards drew the attention of the AMA, including the dosing instructions, real-time prior authorization, and standard medical terminology. The AMA states that the incorporation of these three additional standards will support the most robust, fully functional e-prescribing systems. The organization additionally supports the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances.
The AMA is also supporting that a two year period be created after the standards are created before e-prescriptions are mandated through Medicare or a more broad implementation. During this timeframe, pharmacies and physicians can utilize faxes to transmit prescriptions.
The AMA proposal was described at the Brookings Institute earlier this month at an e-prescribing forum. The AMA noted that standards must consider the needs of small physician practices and low volume prescribers. Additional considerations should address the limitations of rural communities, who may not have access to the same operational, financial, or technical tools as other providers.
May 13, 2008 Related topics: Legal & legislative