CMS Releases New E-Prescribing Standards for Medicare Part D

On April 2, 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Press Release announcing that it has released a display copy of the Final Rule establishing Medicare Part D e-prescribing standards for medication history, formulary and benefits, fill status notification, and the identification of individual health care providers.  According to the Press Release, the new e-prescribing standards supplement a set of "foundation" standards that were published in a November 7, 2005 final rule.  The Final Rule is scheduled to appear in the Federal Register on April 7, 2008 and CMS reports that the new e-prescribing standards will be effective on April 1, 2009. According to Acting CMS Administrator, Kerry Weems, "[t]he Part D e-prescribing standard final rule moves us closer to achieving interoperable health information technology, one of the cornerstones of the Administration's Value-Driven Health Care Initiative."