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Ensure You’re Compliant with New State e-Prescribing Mandates

Compliance with e-Prescribing Mandates

Did you know that many states and the federal government have adopted legislation that requires electronic prescriptions? Are you compliant with the latest regulations, or prepared as states continue to adopt these mandates nationwide? Thankfully, Open Dental has e-prescription solutions that fit your needs to ensure you can continue to operate your practice uninterrupted.

Minnesota, New York, Iowa, Florida, Delaware, and California already require all prescriptions to be sent electronically. Michigan has adopted similar legislation, but enforcement has been delayed until January 2023.

Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, and Washington require electronic prescriptions for all controlled substances. Kansas, Maine, and Virginia require electronic prescriptions for all opioids. North Carolina requires electronic prescriptions for schedule II and III opioids, while Arizona requires them only for schedule II opioids. Colorado and Missouri require electronic prescriptions for schedule II–IV drugs; New Jersey schedule II only.

And more states have electronic prescription requirements coming up. In 2023 Maryland and Illinois will require that all controlled substances be prescribed electronically. Utah has passed legislation requiring electronic prescription of controlled substances, but enforcement has been delayed until further notice. On the Federal side, all prescriptions for controlled substances covered by Medicare Part D must be prescribed electronically starting in 2023. Ohio and New Jersey both have EPCS legislation filed or pending, so they are likely to join the ranks of states with electronic requirements in the coming years.

States With EPCS Mandates Enacted/Adopted

DateAll PrescriptionsAll Controlled PrescriptionsSome Controlled Prescriptions
2011Minnesota
2016New York
2017Maine (opioids)
2018Connecticut
2019PennsylvaniaNew Jersey (CII only; EHR vendor)
2020Iowa
Florida
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
Arizona (CII opioids)
North Carolina (CII-CIII opioids)
Virginia (opioids)
2021DelawareArkansas
Kentucky
Massachusetts
New Mexico
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Wyoming
2022CaliforniaIndiana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
Utah (enforcement delayed until further notice)
Washington
2023MichiganMedicare Part D
Illinois
Maryland

States/Territories Without EPCS Mandates

Alabama
Alaska
District of Columbia
Georgia
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Louisiana
Mississippi
Montana
New Jersey**
North Dakota
Ohio**
Oregon
Puerto Rico
South Dakota
Vermont
Virgin Islands
West Virginia Wisconsin

**Legislation filed/pending


With more states requiring electronic prescriptions, it makes sense to adopt an e-prescribing platform sooner rather than later. Even if your state doesn’t currently have an EPCS mandate chances are you eventually will need the ability to prescribe electronically.

DoseSpot has been an industry leader in integrated e-prescribing since 2009 and is fully integrated into Open Dental. DoseSpot specializes in integrated e-prescribing and serves all types of dentists, from solo practices to large DSOs, and has more than 200,000 registered users. In fact, one out of every 80 prescriptions sent in the United States is sent through DoseSpot! One thing that sets DoseSpot apart is its response times—average response times are 250 ms (0.3 of a second), which is important in a busy office.

E-prescribing allows you to spend more time with your patients and less time managing prescriptions—70% of clinicians say it’s easier to create a new prescription and 80% of clinicians say it’s easier to manage refills. It also makes it easier for staff to help manage refills.

With DoseSpot, you can search for a medication in the Lexicomp drug database using a three-letter med search and create both personal and clinic favorites. Clinic favorites allow you to save medications that everyone uses frequently as a favorite available to all the clinicians in your clinic. When prescribing with DoseSpot, you can receive Drug–Drug and Drug–Allergy notifications and review dental-specific drug monographs. You can utilize refill and cancel capabilities.

Most states are requiring electronic prescribing of controlled substances, and that’s something to consider when looking for an e-prescribing platform. DoseSpot utilizes Experian-based identity proofing to verify your identity. Sending a controlled substance requires two-factor authentication. DoseSpot uses a PIN and a DUO-generated code.

If your state participates in the Appriss Health prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) you can see a patient’s Narx scores displayed below their demographic information. Narx scores can help you gauge the patient’s potential risks. You can also view the full PDMP report and access multi-state reporting if available.


An e-prescribing platform makes managing prescriptions and your patients easier and with more states mandating electronic prescriptions, it’s important to find the right platform for your office and needs. DoseSpot’s easy-to-use integration could be exactly what you need. Get started with the steps on this page or watch this video to learn about signing up for DoseSpot and how to use it to e-prescribe right from Open Dental.

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