At this point, electronic signatures may seem like old history for pharmacists, from a time, in the pre-COVID-19 era, when things were “ordinary”. For so long, the relatively simple practice of taking a patient’s signature to validate a withdrawal was just a routine and expected part of the retail localization process. So electronic signature capture for pharmacies is necessary.
CMS
However, that all changed in late March when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), followed by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) issued guidance encouraging all states, including pharmacy spreadsheets and Medicaid agencies, to temporarily dispense. verification of signature receipt and delivery requirements. As the CMS noted in its guidance, “requiring a patient subscription to receive medication could undermine current overall health efforts to combat the spread of Covid.”
Since then, home deliveries, curbside pickups, and contactless exchanges have become the preferred methods of exchanging recipes, with most signature pads safely tucked away for another day. When that day will arrive seems a long way off, as the pandemic gives no indication of abating and pharmacies focus their efforts on tracking increasingly creative ways to focus on patient and staff safety. However, as pharmacies return to the day when prescription collections require signatures, pharmacists will be reminded that electronic signatures require compliance with various legislative and regulatory requirements and that when it comes to the law, not all signatures are equals.
PrimeRx
As confusing as this may sound, pharmacy managers can be confident that technology vendors have kept up with subscription requirements and that certain systems, including PrimeRx from Micro Merchant Systems, offer easy-to-use arrangements, ensure continuous storage, facilitate regulatory compliance, and maybe portable, for use with portable devices.
E-SIGN
E-SIGN was signed into regulation in 2000 by President William Clinton. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), E-SIGN essentially established the legitimacy of an electronically signed document and overturned previous legislation that required written documents. A significant principle of E-SIGN was the establishment of an authoritative definition of an electronic signature.
