Electronic Prescribing For Controlled Substances (EPCS): A Primer On The Identity Proofing And Logical Access Control Requirements

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) interim final rule (IFR) allowing electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) was enacted in 2010, and outlines the requirements that health systems, hospitals, individual practitioners, pharmacies, and e-prescribing technology providers must meet to enable EPCS.

The requirements for EPCS are more stringent than the requirements for electronic prescribing for non-controlled substances, in part, to address what the DEA considers “existing and potential problems that exist when prescriptions are created electronically” 1 for non-controlled substances. To improve security and combat fraud, the DEA requires the use of two-factor authentication at the time of prescribing. When signing an electronic prescription for a controlled substance, practitioners must enter a combination of two of the following...