ISMS’ Advocacy Results in Exemptions, Waivers to the E-Prescribing Mandate!
August 25, 2023
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, Illinois will require all healthcare professionals who write prescriptions for controlled substances to provide them electronically.
ISMS successfully advocated for numerous exemptions and waivers to the e-prescribing mandate, now codified within ISMS-backed House Bill 2077, which was recently signed into law by Governor Pritzker.
Certain low volume prescribers faced onerous regulatory burden and the need to purchase expensive systems that they would hardly use. Initially, the law exempted prescribers issuing 25 prescriptions or less annually. But your hard-working ISMS legislative team advocated to increase that number! Now, prescribers issuing 150 prescriptions or less annually are exempt from the mandate until Jan. 1, 2029. After that, anyone annually issuing 50 prescriptions or less are exempt.
Also, prior to Jan. 1, 2026, waivers will be granted to prescribers who demonstrate a financial hardship. After Jan. 1, 2026, prescribers who offer proof of receiving a waiver from the federal CMS e-prescribing mandate will be waived from the state mandate.
If physicians experience any temporary technological or electric failures that prevent a prescription from being transmitted electronically, they will be granted an exception on a case-by-case basis.
To learn about all of the exemptions and waivers that ISMS successfully won for Illinois physicians pertaining to the e-prescribing mandate, access ISMS’ 2023 Legislative Report. Scroll to Page 11 and look for the heading “Exemptions/Waivers to E-Prescribing Mandate.
To help our members prepare for the mandate, check out these ISMS resources:
- Issue Brief: Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) Implementation
- A 30-minute on-demand course, Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances, which is free for members
If you have questions, please contact ISMS Senior Vice President of State Legislative Affairs Erin O'Brien by email.