To meet state EPCS mandate in a timely and efficient manner, Hartford Healthcare goes with Imprivata Confirm ID

How does a nearly 2,000-bed healthcare system that sees an average of 15,000 people a day deal with the inefficiencies that come with prescribing controlled substances on paper? Tired of dealing with issues that cause daily legal and ethical risks for healthcare systems, including dual prescribing workflows, patient safety concerns, and an increased risk of fraud and forged prescriptions, Hartford HealthCare recently chose to implement Imprivata Confirm ID for electronic prescription of controlled substances (EPCS).

In June of 2017, Hartford HealthCare was considering options for improving its prescribing workflow, and the state of Connecticut passed new legislation that would help to deliver the solution: EPCS. Ultimately, this would create a single, electronic prescribing workflow that effectively handled the issues that arise from paper prescriptions. Yet, they faced federal obstacles in enacting this policy – any proposed system would need to be fully compliant with DEA regulations, a daunting task for any healthcare organization.

With only six months to meet the EPCS compliance deadline of January 1, 2018, and the understanding that any new technology had to work seamlessly with already existing systems, including Epic EHR, without alienating potentially change-resistant clinicians, Hartford HealthCare found that Imprivata Confirm ID met all the requirements. Imprivata Confirm ID for EPCS delivers a comprehensive, end-to-end compliance with the DEA requirements for EPCS, which include provider identity proofing, credential enrollment, two factor authentication, and reporting.

As Dr. Spencer G. Erman, Vice President and CMIO at Hartford HealthCare said, “Selecting Imprivata Confirm ID was a no-brainer for us, as it delivers a complete solution for EPCS compliance as well as a seamless workflow for our providers.”

Imprivata Confirm ID works because it meets the DEA standard that, at the time of prescribing, a provider complete two-factor authentication. This can be something you are, such as a fingerprint; something you have, such as an OTP token code; or something you know, like a password. Hartford Healthcare chose to use Imprivata’s smartphone application that enables the use of push token notification and fingerprint biometrics in certain areas for their widespread rollout of Imprivata Confirm ID.  

In fewer than four weeks, Hartford Healthcare enrolled more than 2,000 providers in Imprivata Confirm ID for EPCS across multiple hospitals and more than 150 ambulatory sites.

Complete provider registration in their EPCS system. Improved provider workflows. Increased patient and provider satisfaction. More secure, streamline prescribing process. Decreased risk of diversion and fraud. All were accomplished by Hartford HealthCare before the January 1, 2018 EPCS deadline, using Imprivata. By the second month with Imprivata Confirm ID for EPCS deployed, more than 95% of controlled substances were prescribed electronically.

“There is very little paper changing hands, which means that it’s significantly harder for DEA and license numbers to be stolen or lost … as a result, forged and altered prescriptions have greatly decreased, if not disappeared,” reports Dr. Erman. “We’re able to comply with the state-wide mandate, while also keeping our patients safe, and doing our part in the battle against the opioid crisis.”

For more on Hartford HealthCare’s successful implementation of Imprivata Confirm ID for EPCS, read the Blueprint for EPCS Success.