Health IT security company Imprivata, today announced a new collaboration with DigiCert, a leading provider of TLS/SSL, IoT and other PKI solutions and a federally approved certificate authority (CA), to deliver a streamlined, fully integrated workflow for remote identity proofing to support customers meeting U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requirements for electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS).
Growing Importance of EPCS Amidst the Opioid Crisis
EPCS continues to gain momentum amongst lawmakers to reduce “doctor shopping” and minimize the risk of altered, stolen or fraudulent prescriptions to help combat America’s opioid and prescription drug abuse epidemic. This October, President Trump signed into law H.R.6 – SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a comprehensive bill designed to address the opioid abuse epidemic. Included in the bill is an electronic prescribing requirement for all controlled substance prescriptions for a covered part D drug under a prescription drug plan. Additionally, 13 states (NY, ME, CT, AZ, NC, RI, IA, OK, TN, VA, MA, CA, and PA) have already enacted legislation containing full EPCS mandates for controlled substances prescribed in those states.
Before practitioners can be issued the two-factor authentication credentials necessary for signing EPCS orders, the DEA stipulates that they must successfully undergo either an institutional or an individual identity proofing process. Imprivata Confirm ID™, the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution for EPCS, offers a robust, role-based supervised enrollment workflow to automate the institutional identity proofing process. Now, through collaboration with DigiCert, Imprivata Confirm ID also delivers a streamlined, fully integrated workflow for individual identity proofing.
Integrating Imprivata with DigiCert Identity Proofing Process
Integrating with the DigiCert identity proofing process, Imprivata Confirm ID binds the identity of providers to the authentication modalities they will use for EPCS, allowing them to leverage the full suite of authentication options and establishing a secure, auditable chain of trust.
Imprivata Confirm ID is the comprehensive identity and multifactor authentication platform for remote access and clinical authentication workflows across the healthcare enterprise. Imprivata Confirm ID is a single, centralized solution that enables remote and on-premise users to transact with patient health information securely and conveniently.
“Providing multiple authentication options ensures all practitioners can complete the identity proofing process in a timely fashion, especially for individuals who may be unable to complete online verification – for example, if they have issues with their credit history,” said Mike Nelson, VP of IoT at DigiCert. “By integrating seamlessly with our identity proofing process, Imprivata Confirm ID gives customers a single, comprehensive reporting solution to meet the DEA recordkeeping requirements.”