Maine EPCS Overview:
Maine is the second state to legally require the electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), which goes into effect on July 1, 2017.
New York was the first state to require EPCS. Minnesota has had mandatory e-prescribing, not only the Controlled Substances, since 2011.
Maine's new statute, "An Act to Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program," includes a number of provisions designed to reduce over-prescribing of opioid.
In addition to the EPCS requirement, the legislation also has provisions:
That limit the durations and doses of opioid prescriptions.
Requires that prescriber receive continuing medical education on addiction,
Legal liabilities for Prescriber and Dispensers to honor and obey the mandate.
Information for the Prescriber:
URL: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/samhs/osa/data/pmp/prescriber.htm
Registration for the PMP Web Portal:
URL: https://maine.pmpaware.net/login
Registration:
A. If the Prescriber was already registered in Maine's previous PMP system:
If the old account was successfully loaded to Maines new PMP system, the prescriber should have received an e-mail on Tuesday, December 20, 2016. Follow the instructions in this e-mail to activate the new account.
B. If the prescriber was already registered in the previous system, but never received email notification:
If an e-mail notification was never received on Tuesday December 20, the prescriber is required to make a new registration in the new PMP system using information provided in the Maine PMP AWARxE User Support Manual. This includes delegates and users whose accounts were not be able to be transferred to the new system. Please note that delegates will not be able to register themselves in the new system until their supervisor account has been approved by the state PMP administrator.
C. If the prescriber have never registered for Maine’s PMP System:
The prescriber will need to register in the new PMP system using information provided in the Maine PMP AWARxE User Support Manual
For assistance related to Registration for
Maine's new PMP platform, please contact PMP
helpdesk at 1-844-463-4767. Technical assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Data Submission:
Data on all Schedule II, III, and IV drugs dispensed in Maine are submitted by pharmacies to the Maine PMP at least daily, and stored in a centralized database. Maine adheres to the DEA list of scheduled drugs and does not add to or subtract from it.
Using Patient Threshold Reports :
If a Patient Threshold Report is received, review the records to confirm that this person is a patient of yours and that you wrote the prescription(s) attributed to you.
If you find that any of the records are inaccurate, please contact the pharmacy immediately. If you did write the prescriptions, patient safety generally dictates the need to discuss the patient with the other doctors listed on the report. During this discussion, you should decide collectively who will continue to provide prescriptions for the drugs to the patient (if indicated) and who might address any concerns about drug abuse with them. You may also want to keep the report in the patient's chart. The goal is to get people the treatment they need if they have a substance abuse problem.
Call us 1-800-515-0095 and we will get you on-board through our quick,easy, compliant, and inexpensive EPCS solution.
