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E-Prescribing Exemptions


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Additional E-Prescribing Topics:

Automatic E-Rx Exemptions

An automatic exemption to E-Prescribing is granted to physicians who qualify for any of the following:


  • An eligible professional who is not a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant as of June 30 of the reporting year;
  • An eligible physician for whom office visits and other services listed in the CMS e-Prescribing measure specifications represent less than 10 percent of their allowed Medicare charges over the reporting period; or
  • An eligible physician who has less than 100 claims for patient services containing visit and service codes that fall within the e-Prescribing measure specifications for dates of service during the six month reporting period.
  • New: Achieved meaningful use sometime between Jan. 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013.
  • New: Registered for the EHR Incentive program and adopted EHR by Jan. 31, 2013.

Requesting an E-Rx Exemption

The opportunity to request an exemption from the 2013 e-prescribing penalty expired Jan. 31, 2013.

As of March 1, 2013 options are:

  • Be subject to the 2 percent payment adjustment in 2014, or
  • E-prescribe at least 10 times between now and June 30, 2013 dates of service, by submitting HCPCS code G8553 along with any billable service. (The billable service could be an exam, a test, or a surgical procedure. Reporting must be from your office - not through a registry), or
  • If you do not qualify for one of the automatic exemptions you may request an exemption for the 2 percent payment adjustment in 2014 and must do so before June 30, 2013.

    The exemptions (see below) must be requested through the Quality Reporting Communications Support page:

  • I have an inability to electronically prescribe due to local, State, or Federal law or regulation.
  • I prescribed or expect to prescribe fewer than 100 prescriptions in the Jan. 1 through June 30, 2013 reporting period. 
  • I practice in a rural area without sufficient high speed internet access.
  • I practice in an area without sufficient available pharmacies for electronic prescribing.


 Note: Any item carried by a pharmacy can be e-prescribed.