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State pharmacists may lose paper prescriptions in battle against fraud

Two bills in Lansing would require physicians to use electronic prescriptions instead of written and faxed prescriptions, mirroring a national trend.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Hand-written prescriptions, long the butt of jokes, could become a distant memory under bills requiring most prescriptions in Michigan to be filled electronically.

“There seems to be consensus that this is where we need to be,’’ said Larry D. Wagenknecht, chief executive officer of the Michigan Pharmacists Association.

Aside from occasional illegible handwriting, paper prescriptions can be counterfeited by criminals in search of opioid painkillers, advocates of a paperless process say.

Under bills pending in the state House and Senate, prescribers would have to transmit prescriptions, including those for controlled substances, electronically to the patient’s pharmacist. The bills provide for some exemptions.

At least 23 states now require e-prescribing with certain exemptions, according to a Senate Fiscal Agency report.

“The process often replaces the use of written or faxed prescriptions,’’ according to the Senate Fiscal Agency report. “Evidently, e-prescribing has grown significantly in past years.’’

Starting in 2021, the federal government will require all Medicare Part D controlled substance prescriptions to be sent electronically.

“The feds are going to be requiring it,’’ Wagenknecht said. “It’s an additional safeguard.’’

This comes as a growing number of drug addicts are using phony prescriptions to score popular painkillers.

Several people have been prosecuted in Kent County, including a Detroit man who used a counterfeit prescription at a Sparta pharmacy last summer.

Vernon Lee Mason IV, 27, was sentenced in February for manufacturing prescription forms. He's serving a 1 to 7-year term for manufacturing prescription forms.

Investigators say Mason tried to obtain opioids at several pharmacies using bogus prescriptions. Mason was on probation at the time.

“Forgery of prescriptions is a very serious problem,’’ Wagenknecht said. “And with technology that’s out there today, the ability to recreate a prescription that looks legitimate is pretty available.’’

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