Practitioner Notification Process - Use of an Electronic Prescribing Exception

There are a number of exceptions to the electronic prescribing mandate which allow a practitioner to issue an Official New York State Prescription (ONYSRx) form, an oral prescription or a facsimile of a manually signed ONYSRx in lieu of an electronic prescription.

Use of an exception to the e-prescribing mandate no longer requires a notification to the New York State Department of Health. However, the prescribing practitioner must indicate in the patient's health record when they issue a non-electronic prescription for one of the approved exceptions below:

• Temporary technological failure;
• Temporary electrical failure;
• To be dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state, outside the country, or on federal property, including and not limited to the following examples; Veterans Administration, West Point, Fort Drum, and Indian Reservations;
• The practitioner reasonably determines that it would be impractical for the patient to obtain substances prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner, and such delay would adversely impact the patient's medical condition.

A request for an Electronic Prescribing Waiver is not necessary for any of the exceptions above.