US DEA shift on e-Rx over paper records

The US Drug Enforcement Agency is examining a change in the regulations governing the prescribing of controlled substances, which has effectively blocked moves to electronic prescribing. The federal anti-narcotics agency currently insists that physicians maintain paper records of prescribing for pharmaceutical products it considers to be susceptible to illegal uses (Marketletter December 10, 2007).

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, Rhode Island) chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last December, at which he grilled DEA representatives on the regulations and raised several questions about the agency's viewpoint. In written responses to the Senator, the DEA said it had "provided the Department of Justice with a proposed rule regarding the electronic prescribing of controlled substances."

According to the Rhode Island Senator, the news is "encouraging" but he noted that the issue is far from settled. The DEA admitted it could not predict how long the approval process would take. Both the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice are required to review the proposed rule.