It was reported on the news today that the opioid epidemic has been declared a public health emergency. The report said that 142 people die a day from overdose-related deaths, and that it’s the biggest health crisis since HIV and AIDs. Mandating electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) would put a huge dent in the problem.
EPCS is actually legal in all 50 states, and has been shown to help reduce fraudulent access to and abuse of controlled substances such as prescription opioids. Now, almost a dozen states either do, or soon will, require electronic prescribing for controlled substances in order to make access to the drugs a more secure process. Some think a federal mandate would go much further (and faster) in limiting access to prescription opioids. In August, the Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act was filed in the US House of Representatives, which would mandate e-prescribing in all 50 states for controlled substances under Medicare Part D. The representatives who introduced the Act hope that it will eliminate “shopping” for doctors willing to write opioid prescriptions, which should cut down on overprescribing as well as being able to 
fabricate or alter handwritten prescriptions. Another practical side of e-prescribing is that it is a more efficient way to process prescriptions in terms of time savings, paperwork, and record keeping.
Things to think about doing when prescribing opioids are checking your state’s prescription monitoring program database to see whether the patient is being prescribed the drug through other clinicians, prescribing the minimum quantity possible, and considering using non-opioid alternatives as often as practical, depending on a patient’s level of pain.
XLDent was one of the first dental software companies to offer an ePrescribing solution back in 2011, and in 2015 received EPCS Certification for it. Tying patients’ up-to-date medical and medication histories to Lexicomp’s medication database and alert system improves the dental practice’s ability to prescribe the appropriate meds and monitor their use. Moving from paper-based to ePrescribing provides dental offices with the enhanced security features of this practice management technology. Your prescriptions will be authenticated before they are filled, and you will have peace of mind in your efforts to prevent abuse, addiction, and loss of life.