Prescription Monitoring Program - Integration

Substitute Senate Bill 5380, passed during the 2019 legislative session, mandates that all entities defined in RCW 70.225.090(2)(a) with 10 or more prescribers must demonstrate the ability to integrate their federally certified electronic health record (EHR) system with the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) effective January 1, 2021. The law directs the Department of Health (department) to develop a waiver in which a facility, entity, office, or provider group with 10 or more prescribers may attest to the need for a waiver if it has an economic hardship, technological limitation, or other exceptional circumstance that prevents it from complying with the mandate.

The Prescription Monitoring Program is considering rules that will accomplish the legislative directive by providing entities with the necessary criteria to attest to the need for a waiver from demonstrating their ability to integrate with PMP. For more information, please contact PMP at PrescriptionMonitoring@doh.wa.gov.

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on Washington’s health care system over the last several months, the secretary of health is exercising his authority under RCW 70.225.090(2)(b) to grant a nine-month waiver from complying with the requirement in RCW 70.225.090(2)(a) to integrate with the state PMP by January 1, 2021.

This secretary’s waiver will expire on September 30, 2021. At that time, all health care entities subject to the EHR/PMP integration requirement must have integrated EHRs in compliance with RCW 70.225.090(2)(a) or a waiver filed with the department.