Six Steps to a Successful e-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Project: Part 2

Kyle Vernest

May 13, 2020

In my previous post, I walked through the steps that healthcare facilities’ IT, clinical leadership, pharmacy, compliance/credentialing, and application/EMR teams need to take to prepare for EPCS. I covered these steps for the assessment, preparation, and testing phases of successful EPCS product plans. In this post, I’ll talk through the responsibilities of each team as they tackle the final three phases of their EPCS project: enrollment, transition, and deployment.

Electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) has many benefits for prescribers, patients, IT, and pharmacy and hospital administration. But the DEA requirements for EPCS introduce complexities that need to be considered when developing a project plan.

We’ve discussed some of these considerations before, but there are many tactical steps that cut across the healthcare organization. This two-part article will provide details on what IT, clinical leadership, pharmacy, the application/EMR team, and the compliance/credentialing departments can do to make an EPCS project a success in six key phases: Assessment, Preparation, Testing, Enrollment, Transition, and Deployment (in this first article, we’ll cover the first three steps).

Phase 4: Enrollment

Role	Responsibility
IT	Work with the credentialing department to enable appropriate personnel for EPCS transactions and software controls.
Clinical leadership	Assist the credentialing department to enroll user credentials and two-factor authentication modalities. It is essential to have clinical support for this effort to drive adoption.
Compliance, credentialing department	Lead the enrollment effort by vetting the identities of clinicians and enrolling appropriate credentials for them.

Phase 5: Transition

Role	Responsibility
IT	Ensure that appropriate software is installed on devices across the organization and that appropriate authentication hardware is put in place to enable EPCS.
Clinical leadership	Ensure that the initiative is communicated to the appropriate clinical staff and ensure that they have been sufficiently trained on the new methodology. Have goals in place for the adoption of, and transition to, EPCS. And, design a communication and assessment plan to educate clinicians and track EPCS progress.
Pharmacy	Ensure that local pharmacies are aware of your transition to EPCS. Continue to monitor any issues with local pharmacies at this stage.
Application, EMR Team	Continue to ensure that your EMR and authentication software function well together.
Compliance, credentialing department	Ensure that all EPCS prescribers are identity-proofed and that their credentials are enrolled. Ensure that all new prescribers are identity proofed for EPCS as part of the standard credentialing onboarding process.

Phase 6: Deployment

Role	Responsibility
IT	Assist in the deployment of your EPCS solution from a technical support aspect.
Clinical leadership	Encourage the adoption and use of EPCS and communicate its benefits to clinical staff and their patients. Continue to work with the hospital pharmacist group to ensure the ongoing success of your EPCS project.
Pharmacy	Continue to drive EPCS adoption and work with new pharmacies to ensure the successful use of EPCS.
Application, EMR Team	Ensure that any software upgrades to the EMR software are compatible with the two-factor authentication modalities you use for EPCS. It is important to add compatibility considerations to your upgrade testing and validation plans.
Compliance, credentialing department	Assist with deployment and ensure that all clinicians who prescribe controlled substances are identity proofed and properly enrolled for EPCS.