Principles for e-Prescribing
The Coalition for Patient Privacy recommends the following basic principles in any e-prescribing legislation:
- include a right to health information privacy (the right to control access to personal health information);
- require that any prescription data transmitted via e-prescribing be used only for the express purpose of prescription filling and submitting the necessary codes to the insurer for payment;
- include a provision requiring prompt notification of privacy breaches;
- include a provision that creates meaningful penalties and enforcement mechanisms for violations detected by patients, advocates and government regulators;
- include provisions enhancing the security of e-prescription data such as encryption when data is transmitted, stored or retained in any storage and retrieval systems, including access devices, readable cards or other methods;
- ensure physicians who decline to use e-prescribing are not penalized;
- ensure transparency by requiring annual reporting to patients listing everyone who has accessed their prescription data;
- include a provision ensuring stronger state privacy laws are not pre-empted;
- require reporting of privacy complaints to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS);
- require CMS to provide an annual report to Congress on privacy complaints made; and
- ensure prescription technology allows those with disabilities to be able to use e-prescribing tools efficiently and effectively.
Read the Coalition’s letter to Congress here and their press release here.