There are already many cases of doctors and healthcare professionals who were charged and convicted for making illegal prescriptions. Federal authorities are keen in catching those people who are doing unethical practices because they are putting their patients at risk. It is also a must that proper diagnosis should be done in order to avoid any complications. Doctors should strictly follow the procedures in making prescriptions as mandated by law. However, there are still some health professionals who violate the basic procedure in treating their patients. Most of these happen in the prescription of controlled substances such as stimulants, opioids, hallucinogens, depressants, and anabolic steroids.

To implement an effective control and monitoring of the prescriptions, the Drug enforcement Agency (DEA) proposes to expand the current electronic prescription system being adopted by health care professionals, hospitals and pharmacists. The old system allowed the providers to create prescriptions electronically for controlled substances and those prescriptions are either printed out for signatures or faxed to a pharmacy. The electronic prescriptions are transmitted as electronic data files to the pharmacy and then import the data file into a database through the use of computer programs.

However, the rule for e-prescribing met some resistance from federal healthcare providers. They argued that the approach proposed for the private sector was inconsistent with their existing practices and did not meet the security requirements for federal systems. This was the rule imposed by the DEA since June 2008.

The new rule proposed by the DEA will now include the use of biometrics. The use of fingerprints, iris scans, or handprints will be utilized to help in the authentication of the e-prescribing user. Under the new rule, users of e prescribing systems for controlled substances would have to prove their identities by using two out of three factors: something you know (passwords), something you have (tokens), or something you are (biometrics).

The proposal will eliminate the unauthorized use of identities of e-prescribing user. The biometrics will now be used as a substitute to hard token or password. According to the DEA, entities who will still use the hard token, should meet specified security standards for cryptographic devices one time password devices. In addition, it must be stored on a device that is separate from the computer in use.

In a statement issued by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, allowing for electronic prescribing of controlled substances— while maintaining rigorous controls to prevent illegal diversion and protect privacy— is key to unleashing the vast cost saving and quality improvement potential of health information technology. “This new interim rule from the DEA and DOJ brings us one step closer to that goal,” he added.

Specifically, the aim of the new rule is to prevent the misuse of controlled substances that have a potential for abuse and psychological and physical dependence. Some of these drugs include opioids, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids. According to Health Leaders Media, the prescriptions for controlled substances in the US accounts for 10% to 11%. The DEA has already posted the new regulation in the Federal Register and is open for comments for 60 days.

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