NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Emdeon Inc. (NYSE:
EM), a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle
management and clinical information exchange solutions, today
announced its support for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration's (DEA's) quicker-to-market option for electronic
prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS).
On June 1, 2010, prescribers
became legally allowed to electronically transmit controlled
substance prescriptions to the pharmacy of a patient's choice, and
pharmacies were allowed to electronically receive these
prescriptions so long as certain required security measures were in
place. Over a year after the DEA Interim Final Rule (IFR) enabling
EPCS became effective, the healthcare industry still has not
completed implementation of the electronic prescribing software
systems necessary to transmit controlled substance prescriptions
pursuant to the IFR. Emdeon believes many of the challenges faced
by prescribers and pharmacies may be addressed expeditiously
through an option that is currently offered within the IFR.
The DEA gave two options in the IFR to allow for EPCS between
prescribers and pharmacies. One option, which has been referred to
in the industry as "Option 1," entails end-to-end public key
infrastructure where the prescription is digitally signed with the
prescriber's digital certificate and that signature is verified by
the pharmacy using the prescriber's public key. Option 1 requires a
coordination of effort between prescriber and pharmacy to capture,
transmit, receive, validate and store the digital signature
assigned to each prescription. Because the technology requirements
related to Option 1 are complex and standards continue to be
developed, the required software upgrades may be delayed behind
other regulatory compliance initiatives for many pharmacies.
The other DEA-allowable option, which has been referred to in
the industry as "Option 2," requires the transmission of a flag
from the prescriber to the pharmacy indicating that a controlled
substance prescription has been sent by a DEA-certified prescriber
using a two-factor authentication method. The digital signature is
validated, captured and stored, all by the prescriber, but not
transmitted to the pharmacy. This option requires the pharmacy or
last intermediary to digitally sign the transaction as received to
verify that the data has not been modified after receipt. Option 2
utilizes currently available software and industry standard
transaction data to confirm the authenticity of the transmission
resulting in easier compliance with the IFR.
"While Emdeon supports both options, in an effort to speed the
implementation of EPCS, we broadly support Option 2 as an initial
phase of implementation," said Mark
Lyle, senior vice president of pharmacy services for Emdeon.
"We believe that Option 2 will enable prescribers and pharmacies to
adopt EPCS more quickly and still meet the requirements of the
IFR."
As the only ePrescribing network with market-based experience in
transmitting EPCS, Emdeon through its eRx Network is already
demonstrating the achievability of EPCS and its potential impact on
healthcare. Emdeon is participating in a multi-year research
project with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH),
DrFirst and several other leading industry providers to support
this project for EPCS.
"Prescribers and pharmacies are excited about closing the loop
on ePrescribing by implementing EPCS," said Peter Kaufman, chief medical officer for
DrFirst. "We support the industry's efforts in promoting this
quick-to-market option to allow broader adoption of
ePrescribing."
Emdeon's secure and interoperable network is the largest
financial and administrative healthcare information exchange in the
nation. Clinical exchange volumes among Emdeon's suite of solutions
are increasing with a current annual run rate of 100 million
ePrescriptions and 30 million clinical messages per year. In total,
Emdeon currently facilitates over 5 billion healthcare information
exchanges each year through its network which reaches approximately
500,000 physicians, 81,000 dentists, 60,000 pharmacies, 5,000
hospitals and 1,200 payers.
About Emdeon
Emdeon is a leading provider of revenue and payment cycle
management and clinical information exchange solutions, connecting
payers, providers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system.
Emdeon's product and service offerings integrate and automate key
business and administrative functions of its payer and provider
customers throughout the patient encounter. Through the use of
Emdeon's comprehensive suite of products and services, which are
designed to easily integrate with existing technology
infrastructures, customers are able to improve efficiency, reduce
costs, increase cash flow and more efficiently manage the complex
revenue and payment cycle and clinical information exchange
processes. For more information, visit www.emdeon.com.
SOURCE Emdeon Inc.