A new law taking effect in 2023 will allow California prescribers to request an exemption from the current requirement to electronically prescribe all medications.
Prescribers can request an exemption by registering with the California State Board of Pharmacy and attesting that they meet one or more of the law's specific requirements.
The requirements include the following:
- Prescribers must issue 100 or fewer prescriptions per year.
- Their practice is located in the area of an emergency disaster as declared by a federal, state, or local government.
- The prescriber is unable to issue electronic data transmission prescriptions due to circumstances beyond their control.
The new law also allows pharmacists to decline to dispense an electronic prescription submitted through software that fails to meet any of the requirements.
The law takes effect on January 1. The California Board of Pharmacy is responsible for creating the prescriber registration, but it does not expect to have the registration ready by the first of the year.
The California Dental Association is working with the board to make the registration process as seamless and inexpensive as possible for dentists. The board confirmed that registration will be online and will renew annually, with email reminders sent to registrants.
