National activities -- regulatory relief

Medicaid tamper-proof Rx update

By now most physicians are aware that Congress passed a law last year requiring use of tamper-resistant prescription pads for most Medicaid prescriptions (there are exceptions for Medicaid managed care and institutionalized patients). Advocacy by the AMA, state medical societies and others achieved a 6-month delay in the implementation date. It is important for all physicians to understand that the deadline for use of tamper-resistant prescription pads for Medicaid is April 1, 2008. Orders may take up to 4 weeks to process, so physicians who have not yet order tamper-resistant prescription pads should do so now.

While this is a federal law and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued some guidance to state Medicaid programs, there is not a single national regulation. Each state Medicaid agency must implement its own requirements regarding what tamper-resistant features will be required in that state. Some states have made good progress in reviewing the industry standards for tamper-proof pads and have informed physicians and pharmacists what pads will be accepted in their state, but many states still have not taken action. A letter from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs to State Medicaid Directors (PDF, 52KB) details information about the new requirements, the types of tamper-resistant features that a prescription pad can have, a sample prescription, and other information that physicians who have not yet received detailed information from their state Medicaid agency may find helpful.

2008 Tamper-resistant prescription pad implementation status chart (PDF, 44KB)

CMS announces an electronic health record (EHR) demo

CMS is implementing a 5 year demonstration project to encourage small-to-medium size primary care practices to adopt electronic health records. Secretary Leavitt is currently traveling the country to encourage communities to apply to be one of the 12 demonstration sites. CMS will be accepting the applications until mid-May. CMS plans to announce the 12 communities selected in mid-June. Once the communities have been selected, CMS will begin working with the communities to recruit physician practices for participation. Ultimately, financial incentives may be awarded to as many 1,200 physician primary care practices that use certified EHRs and report on specific clinical quality measures.

The following links will provide you with more information:

EHR fact sheet (PDF, 32KB)

EHR time line (PDF, 151KB)

CVE EHR Travel Schedule(PDF, 13KB)