Table 3.
Barriers to use of electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), for prescribers in study
| How important is the following in limiting the number of electronic prescriptions of controlled substances you send electronically, compared with sending all electronically? | Not important or somewhat not important | Neither | Somewhat important or very important |
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| A. Not comfortable because of security (N=86) | 53 (61.6) | 24 (27.9) | 9 (10.5) |
| B. Electronic prescribing of controlled substances interferes with my office work flow (N=86) | 50 (58.1) | 18 (20.9) | 18 (20.9) |
| C. Participating pharmacies are a small proportion of my practice (N=86) | 8 (9.3) | 17 (19.8) | 61 (70.9) |
| D. I like to see patients in person to assess them when they come in to pick up refills (n=87) | 42 (48.3) | 20 (23.0) | 25 (28.7) |
| E. The technology (computer program) is not always reliable (N=86) | 32 (37.2) | 21 (24.4) | 33 (38.4) |
| F. The technology (flash drive sized security token) is not always reliable (n=87) | 35 (40.2) | 22 (25.3) | 30 (34.5) |
| G. The technology (flash drive sized security token) is hard to use (N=86) | 43 (50.0) | 28 (32.6) | 15 (17.4) |
| H. I don't like carrying a security token (N=86) | 44 (51.2) | 29 (33.7) | 13 (15.1) |
| I. Patients did not want their prescriptions sent electronically (n=87) | 51 (58.6) | 27 (31.0) | 9 (10.3) |
n=102 prescribers authorized and trained to prescribe electronically.