Confused about CMS e-prescribing program?

July 1, 2011 — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has implemented a program encouraging providers to electronically prescribe medications. Doctors of chiropractic who do not electronically prescribe will face reimbursement penalties beginning in 2012.

There is a lot of misinformation regarding what a DC must do to avoid the payment adjustment. To determine whether a doctor should be penalized for not e-prescribing, CMS’ first step will be to check the National Plan and  Provider Enumeration System.

If a provider is not a MD, DO, podiatrist, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant as of June 30, based on primary taxonomy code in NPPES, the doctor will not be subject to the payment penalty. No codes need to be reported if a doctor’s taxonomy code for their NPI record in the NPPES indicates the doctor is a “chiropractor.”

Read CMS’ overview here.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org