The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention recently released new clinical guidelines to improve the way opioids are prescribed. Digitizing the prescribing process helps close critical security gaps, and makes it easier for patients to get the chronic pain treatments they need while making it harder for people to abuse and illegally distribute them.

While Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) is just one piece of the puzzle, it’s available now, and represents an opportunity to save lives today and in the future. EPCS became legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which gave physicians an additional tool to reduce prescription fraud and abuse. New York took it even one step further, with the I-STOP mandate which requires that all prescriptions for Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances be transmitted electronically.