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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2008;299(6):625.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA’s) reluctance to approve regulations covering the electronic prescribing of controlled substances is costing the country billions in health care savings each year, said Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI). This heel dragging is also causing unnecessary adverse drug events, which occur more often with patients who receive their medications via a handwritten prescription, said Whitehouse, who chaired a December hearing on the issue by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The DEA said it supports the responsible adoption of electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. But Whitehouse noted that although the agency has had 4 years to present appropriate regulations, it has not done so and there is no deadline for completion.

"Billion-dollar transactions are done electronically; highly classified national security information travels electronically; military attack aircraft are targeted electronically," Whitehouse said. "Don't tell me we can't figure out a way for a doctor to prescribe . . . [Full Text of this Article]