I-STOP Implementation Delayed Until March 27, 2016

On March 13, 2015, Gov. Cuomo signed an amendment extending by one year, until March 27, 2016, the implementation date for the mandatory electronic prescribing.

In 2012, New York enacted legislation which required prescribers to switch to electronic prescribing for all scripts unless an exception applied. The law was initially set to go into effect on March 27, 2015. In order to prescribe controlled substances, however, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency is required to but has not yet certified the many of the software vendors. “[T]he federal Drug Enforcement Agency moved slowly in certifying vendors who are authorized to transmit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. As a result, many doctors and other prescribers around the state, many of whom have electronic records and e-prescribing capability have contracts with vendors who have not yet received the necessary federal certification,” the lawmakers noted in the amendment’s legislative findings.

As a result, the implementation date for the mandatory electronic prescribing is delayed until March 27, 2016. E-prescribing for controlled and non-controlled substances, however, is already available in New York for those prescribers who meet the program specific requirements.

If you are healthcare provider being audited or investigated or if you have questions about I-STOP legislation, please contact our office.