Important Reading
Elation and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires that only a Prescriber who has completed Experian Identify Proofing and set up 2 Factor Authentication can prescribe controlled substances within Elation. Read the
EPCS Sign Up Process Guide to complete EPCS registration before you can e-prescribe Controlled Substance medications in Elation.
Important Notes:
- The Prescriber must always have access to their token (either an app on their smartphone or a key fob) in order to complete an eRX for a controlled substance medications.
- Custom or compound medications are not available for EPCS as Elation cannot include the required schedule information with a custom or compound medication.
- Authorized Staff Delegates cannot e-prescribe controlled substances on a provider's behalf.
Contents
- Click on the "Rx" button in the gray navigation bar at the top of the patient's chart
- Click "Prescription Form (Rx/OTC/CS)"
- Complete the required (*) fields
- Select the desired Pharmacy
- Click "Prescribe"
- Review the Prescription Summary and then click "Prescribe" when you are ready to send the script to the select pharmacy
- Enter the password you created during the EPCS Sign Up process in the "Token Password" field
- Open the VIP Access App on your smartphone (if you are using a Software Token) or pull out your EPCS key fob (if you are using a Hardware Token).
- Enter the 6 digit Security Code from your token in the "Security Code" field.
- This is how the Security Code displays on the VIP Access App on a smartphone.
- This is how the Security Code displays on a key fob.
- Click "Sign + Send"
- Click "OK" to close the confirmation screen
To regulate the use of controlled substances, the National Council of Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) only allows electronic controlled substance refill requests to be denied or replaced with new intentional prescriptions.
This means when presented with a controlled substance medication refill request in Elation, your response options will be to either replace the request with a new prescription or deny the refill request. The NCPDP also does not allow the replacement prescription to be automatically filled, therefore selecting "Renew" will launch a blank Prescription Form and you will need to specify the medication details again. The NCPDP's intent for this is to require more intentional subsequent controlled substance prescriptions.
- Open the relevant Patient Chart
- Identify the relevant refill request
- Click "Deny" if you would like to deny the request
- Click "Renew" if you would like to send a new prescription back to the pharmacy that initiated the request
- A new "Controlled Substance" form will open
- Fill in the details of the medication & click one of the "Prescribe" options
- Enter the password you created during the EPCS registration process via MDToolbox
- Open your VIP Access App on your smartphone
- Enter the 6 digit Security Code that displays on your VIP Access App
- Click "Sign + Send"
- Click "OK" to close the confirmation screen
Authorized Staff Delegates cannot e-prescribe controlled substances on your behalf. Authorized Staff Delegates can draft controlled substance prescriptions on your behalf and click "Save as Draft & Close" to save the prescription for you to sign off at a later time.
Providers can find drafted scripts in the "Draft Orders" inbox on their Practice Home page and send the prescription with their password and VIP Access App.
When a provider opens an in-draft controlled substance order that was drafted by another provider, they will see a DEA required pop up notification to acknowledge the transfer of ownership.
Yes, but the print out will be watermarked per DEA regulations.
Yes, you can print the controlled substance script on tamper proof paper and hand it to a patient (if your State regulations permit).
Important Note: Controlled substance scripts can only be printed within 10 minutes of the script being signed (this is in case you run into printer issues). Afterwards a watermark will be printed over the script per DEA regulations.
The database of medications that are available to e-prescribe through Elation are provided by the national Medispan medication database. All active and certified drugs are available in this database. We recommend searching for the drug using different nomenclatures to find it.
Each medication that is prescribed electronically must have a National Drug Code associated with it for purposes of identifying drug schedule information. We cannot add to the Medispan database or send through medications that are not in this database as Surescripts will not approve prescriptions without schedule information.
The National Council of Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) only allows controlled substance refill requests to be denied or replaced with new prescriptions. This means when presented with a controlled substance refill request, your response options will be to deny the refill request or to replace the medication with a new prescription. The NCPDP also does not allow the replacement prescriptions to be autofilled, therefore selecting "Renew" will launch a blank Prescription Form and you will need to specify the medication details again. The NCPDP's intention was not to slow you down but to require more intentional subsequent controlled substance prescriptions.
Per controlled substance regulations, the same controlled substance for the same patient on the same fill date cannot be sent more than once to the same pharmacy.
- Ex. If you sent Lorazepam to CVS #2283 for patient Jane Doe to be filled on 10/10/2021, you cannot send another prescription for Lorazepam to CVS #2283 for patient Jane Doe to be filled on 10/10/2021.
If you are replacing the original prescription to the same pharmacy, we recommend going to the original prescription and clicking "Actions" >> "Cancel this eRx order" to cancel the script and then you will be able to send a corrected prescription once the pharmacy accepts the cancel request.
If the pharmacy does not accept cancelling prescriptions electronically or you are unable to wait for the pharmacy to accept your cancel request, you must call the pharmacy to cancel the order. However, due to this EPCS constraint, your script for Lorazepam to be filled on 10/10/2021 must still be sent to a different pharmacy (not CVS #2283).
The VIP Push button sends a pop up notification to your smartphone and provides you the option to approve or deny the EPCS request rather than opening the app to enter a security code. We recommend turning on pop-up notifications for the VIP Access App on your phone in order to effectively use this feature.
The DEA requires that any prescription for a controlled substance remains documented within the patient's chart for record keeping purposes.
You can add as many diagnosis codes as needed to the Prescription Form. However, only two diagnosis codes will be allowed if you plan to electronically send the prescription to the pharmacy (if a Pharmacy is selected).
You can add as many controlled substance medications to the Prescription Form as needed.
Patient addresses are now required for both non-controlled and controlled substances. If the patient is experiencing homelessness, store the word 'HOMELESS' in the Address field and enter the City, State, and Zip for your local area. If the address of the patient is unable to be obtained, store the word 'UNKNOWN' in the Address field and enter the City, State, and Zip for your local area.
In an effort to provide more accurate and precise quantity and dosing information to pharmacies to dispense medications to patients, the National Council for Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (NCPDP) has specified which quantity units are acceptable for prescribing. Below is a list of all the accepted prescription units and their recommended alternatives. When 'each' is one of the recommended alternatives for a deprecated unit but other recommended alternatives are available, the NCPDP suggests that you choose one of the other more appropriate terms (e.g. choose 'mL' for ampule instead of 'each').
| Deprecated Unit | Recommended Alternative |
| Ampul | mL or each |
| Applicatorful | grams or mL |
| Bag | grams or mL |
| Bar | each |
| Bead | grams |
| Block | each |
| Bolus | mL |
| Bottle | mL |
| Can | grams, mL, or each |
| Canister | grams or mL |
| Carton | grams, mL, or each |
| Cartridge | mL |
| Case | grams, mL, or each |
| Cassette | grams, mL, or each |
| Container | grams, mL, or each |
| Cylinder | grams, mL, or each |
| Device | each |
| Disk | each |
| Dose pack | grams, mL, or each |
| Dual pack | grams, mL, or each |
| Fluid ounce | mL |
| French | each |
| Gallon | mL |
| Inhalation | grams, mL, or each |
| Inhaler | grams, mL, or each |
| Inhaler refill | grams, mL, or each |
| Intravenous bag | mL |
| Kilogram | grams |
| Liter | mL |
| Milliequivalent | grams or mL |
| Milligram | grams |
| Nebule | mL |
| Needle free injection | mL |
| Ocular system | each |
| Ounce | grams |
| Package | grams, mL, or each |
| Paper | each |
| Pint | mL |
| Pouch | grams, mL, or each |
| Pound | grams |
| Pre-filled pen syringe | mL |
| Puff | grams or mL |
| Pump | grams or mL |
| Quart | mL |
| Sachet | each |
| Scoopful | grams, mL, or each |
| Spray | grams or mL |
| Syringe | mL or each |
| Tablespoon | mL |
| Tabminder | each |
| Tampon | each |
| Teaspoon | mL |
| Tray | grams, mL, or each |
| Tube | grams, mL, or each |
| Vial | mL or each |
Important Note: The unit 'unspecified' should only be used when the correct unit is not available. Inappropriate use of unspecified may trigger an auditing flag by our prescribing partner.
Staff users cannot sign off on controlled substance orders on a provider's behalf per DEA regulations. Staff users can draft controlled substance orders for providers to review and sign at a later time.
Next Step
Send a controlled substance prescription electronically to a pharmacy today!
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