Health Information Compliance Alert

Enforcement News:

HHS Proposes HIPAA Modifications for Schedule II Drugs

Providers may want to revisit their prescribing protocols in regard to HIPAA, a proposed rule suggests.

On Jan. 31, 2019, HHS published the Administrative Simplification: Modification of the Requirements for the Use of HIPAA National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) D.0 Standard proposed rule in the Federal Register. “This proposed rule would adopt a modification to the requirements for the use of the Telecommunication Standard Implementation Guide, Version D, Release 0 (Version D.0), August 2007, National Council for Prescription Drug Programs by requiring covered entities to use the Quantity Prescribed (460-ET) field for retail pharmacy transactions for Schedule II drugs,” explain attorneys J. Mark Ray and Timothy Trysla of national law firm Alston & Bird in a news and insights blog post.

HHS hopes to combat opioid fraud with the HIPAA modifications.

See the Federal Register release at www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/01/31/2019-00554/administrative-simplification-modification-of-the-requirements-for-the-use-of-health-insurance.