The DEA requires all practitioners who will be prescribing controlled substances electronically to undergo identity proofing, even if they have already been authorized to prescribe controlled substances using paper. This whitepaper outlines both individual and institutional identity proofing as well as the logical access control requirements necessary for a successful EPCS initiative.
Two bills in U.S. Congress this year are expected to boost e-prescriptions. This article explains the complexities that makes it so hard to implement electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS), summarizes the intended impacts of the bills, and introduces Imprivata digital identity technology, which has been used in health care for such purposes for many years.
To read the full article, visit www.healthcareittoday.com.
Administrative tasks have always been a burden to health providers. In fact, according to a study by Health Affairs, administrative costs accounted for 25.3 percent of all hospital spending in the U.S. in 2014. However, until recently, physicians were able to delegate many of their administrative responsibilities to other staff members in order to focus on patient care. This is beginning to change.
Unprotected credentials are causing serious problems. Secure passwords, access points, and identities with credential vaults.
As the healthcare industry has moved from paper to electronic records for the past decade, hospitals have continuously had to meet increased federal regulations related to the use of electronic health records. With the increased digitizing of health records, new challenges are being presented by duplicate medical records, language barriers, and disparate systems. Research shows that 7 to 10 percent of patients are misidentified when a record is accessed, and 6 percent of those patients can suffer medical harm or identity theft because of it.