Reminder: New Electronic Prescription Requirement Takes Effect January 2022

Electronic prescribing becomes mandatory in 2022 under Assembly Bill 2789 passed in 2018. By January 2022, all healthcare practitioners authorized to issue prescriptions must be able to electronically transmit prescriptions for both controlled and non-controlled substances.

The law, however, provides certain exemptions including, if an e-prescription is temporarily unavailable because of technological or electrical failure, or if the prescription is dispensed by a pharmacy located outside California. Under the exemptions, a healthcare practitioner who does not utilize an e-prescription to issue a controlled substance prescription shall document the reason as soon as practicable and within 72 hours of the end of the end of the technological or electrical failure.

Enforcement of this new requirement for dental licensees falls under the jurisdiction of the Dental Board of California.

Since 1992, OSHA Review, Inc. has provided dental professionals with comprehensive programs to support regulatory compliance and infection control. We are a registered continuing education provider in the state of California, specializing in Dental Practice Act, infection control, and OSHA training.