AMA’s Reminds Physicians, June 30 Is The Deadline For E-Prescribing

Have you adopted the e-prescribing system? No? Then here’s the reminder from the American Medical Association (AMA) that if you want to avoid the 2013 Medicare e-prescribing program penalty, then you must adopt e-prescribing latest by June 30, 2012 and report on at least 10 electronic scripts.

If you think you will be unable to meet the requirements of the program, then you must apply for a hardship exemption applicable to their particular case before the June 30 deadline.

Background: In November 2011, CMS released the final regulation on the 2013 Medicare e-prescribing penalty program. The failure to adopt the e-prescribing program, or not filing for an exemption on time, would lead to a 1.5 percent payment reduction for all Medicare claims based on the 2013 fee schedule amounts during the year.

Apply for Exemption by June 30

Under the proposal, physicians would have until June 30, 2012 to request a hardship exemption. A request should include:

• Identifying information such as the TIN, NPI, name, address, and email address of all affected EPs
• The hardship exemption categories that apply
• A justification statement describing how the e-prescribing requirement would create a significant hardship
• An attestation of the accuracy of the information.