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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Notifications

    As of October 24, 2019, doctors and other healthcare providers who write paper prescriptions for controlled substance medications are now required to electronically prescribe those controlled substance medications. Electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, allows practitioners to send prescriptions directly to a pharmacy using their office’s computer software.

    All of this means that in most cases, a patient will no longer receive a paper prescription for a controlled substance: their provider will send the patient's prescription electronically to the patient’s preferred pharmacy.

    Electronically sending prescriptions to the pharmacy helps cut down on medication-related errors in patient care.

    To make sure you will not have problems getting your controlled substance prescriptions, we recommend that you:

    • Make sure your prescriber is aware of what pharmacy you like to use.
    • Talk to your prescriber if you have a paper prescription for a controlled substance medication.

    Patients who have questions or concerns about e-prescribing can contact the Patient Advocacy Program by emailing ra-dh-advocacy@pa.gov or calling 844-377-7367 and selecting option 3 on Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m to. 4:00 p.m. EST.

    Patient Advocacy Program

    If you are a patient who is prescribed controlled substance medication(s) and you have abruptly lost access to care, please visit the Patient Advocacy Program page to see what resources are available for you.