That’s right. The much anticipated finalized e-prescribing (e-Rx) rule can be expected as early as Friday and “may have additional hardship exemptions,” CMS officials announced on an Aug. 29 nationwide provider conference call for Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and e-Rx call.
CMS officials alluded to the rule’s potential release within the next week after receiving a question regarding narcotics electronic prescriptions and whether there would be an exemption for it.
Remember: A narcotic prescription hardship exemption was proposed as well as three others(infrequent prescriber, prescribe for ineligible services and provider plans to buy Electronic Health Records (EHR) system instead of e-Rx system), in the May 26 proposed rule.
Sadly, no additional information was divulged solidifying the existence of new hardship exemptions or reaffirming those that were in the proposed rule.
If delivered, the rule would come out just in time to give providers nearly a month to claim an exemption before the Oct. 1 deadline, should the deadline remain the same in the final rule.
Be on the lookout for PBN’s breaking news coverage and analysis on the homepage when the rule is released.