Lessons From Human Health: How ePrescribing Replaced Faxing
In human healthcare, the shift from manual and digital faxing to true ePrescribing completely transformed prescription management. Instead of dealing with lost faxes, illegible handwriting, or constant phone calls, providers began transmitting prescriptions electronically through secure, standards-based networks.
The results were undeniable. ePrescribing delivered compliance, efficiency, and patient safety. By 2010, adoption accelerated rapidly, and today more than 98 percent of prescriptions in human health are transmitted electronically. Faxing is no longer considered acceptable.
Veterinary Prescribing Today: Faxing, Phone Calls, and Delays
Veterinary medicine has not yet made this transition. Many practices still depend on manual and digital faxing, phone calls, mailed scripts, or siloed pharmacy portals. These outdated methods create friction across the industry.
Veterinary teams waste an average of 4 hours per day managing external pharmacy requests, totaling more than $25,000 in lost staff time per year per practice. Pharmacies struggle to obtain approvals and incur tens of millions of dollars in administrative costs across the industry. Pet owners face unnecessary delays waiting for medications.
This fragmented system is slow, error-prone, and frustrating for everyone involved.
What Veterinary ePrescribing Really Means
True veterinary ePrescribing is not a fax wrapper dressed up as digital. It is a standards-based, secure prescribing workflow that eliminates manual and digital faxing altogether.
A genuine veterinary ePrescribing platform is built on the 2023 NCPDP SCRIPT standard, the federally recognized framework for electronic prescriptions. It supports electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), two-factor authentication, audit trails, and structured digital data that integrates seamlessly with PIMS and pharmacy systems.
Without this foundation, it is not ePrescribing. It is still fax in disguise.
The Industry Impact: Why ePrescribing Matters for Everyone
Veterinary Practices
• Reclaim staff time currently lost to manual and digital faxing and phone calls
• Reduce compliance risks and paperwork headaches
• Consolidate all requests into one streamlined approval portal
Pharmacies
• Receive standardized, digital prescriptions instead of fax noise
• Fulfill prescriptions faster with fewer callbacks
• Scale more efficiently across thousands of veterinary practices
• Support secure prescribing of controlled substances through EPCS
Pet Parents
• Faster, more reliable access to pet medications
• Fewer delays caused by missing faxes or endless phone tag
• Greater confidence that prescriptions are secure, accurate, and handled efficiently
Why Veterinary Prescribing Hasn’t Evolved Yet
If the benefits are so clear, why is veterinary prescribing still stuck on faxing? The answer lies in structural and regulatory barriers.
• No mandate yet. Unlike human healthcare, veterinary medicine has not had regulatory requirements that have pushed ePrescribing adoption.
• Fragmented ecosystem. With thousands of practices and diverse pharmacy partners, building a universal solution requires significant collaboration.
• Shortcut solutions. Some companies avoid the complexity by layering a digital dashboard over fax workflows. It appears modern, but it does not address the underlying issues.
The result is an industry that continues to spend time and money on manual and digital faxing while true modernization lags behind.
The Road Ahead: Preparing for ePrescribing Mandates in Animal Health
Just as ePrescribing mandates reshaped human healthcare, veterinary medicine is heading in the same direction. Compliance requirements are inevitable, and both practices and pharmacies need to prepare now.
Those who adopt DEA-certified, standards-based ePrescribing early will be positioned ahead of mandates, gaining efficiency, compliance readiness, and trust with their clients and partners.
The VetWay Role: The First Script Exchange for Animal Health
At VetWay, we are not dressing up faxing with a digital interface. We have built the first dedicated Script Exchange for animal health, a true prescribing network designed for veterinarians, pharmacies, and pet owners.
Operating on the 2023 NCPDP SCRIPT standard, VetWay ensures that prescriptions are transmitted securely, quickly, and in compliance from practice to pharmacy. This is not a middleman relaying faxes. It is a modern, connected platform that transforms prescription management for the entire industry.
Conclusion: The Future of Veterinary Prescribing
Veterinarians need prescribing tools they can trust. Pharmacies need structured data that they can process efficiently. Pet owners need timely access to medications without the delays of manual or digital faxing.
The future of veterinary prescribing is not fax in disguise. It is secure, compliant, and standards-based veterinary ePrescribing, and that is exactly what VetWay delivers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is veterinary ePrescribing?
Veterinary ePrescribing is the secure, standards-based digital transmission of prescriptions from veterinarians to pharmacies using the 2023 NCPDP SCRIPT standard. It eliminates faxing, ensures compliance, and enables electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS).
Why is faxing still common in veterinary medicine?
Mandates for ePrescribing in animal health have not taken hold as widely as they have in human healthcare. Without these requirements—and with no designated network built specifically for animal health—adoption has been slower in an industry known for gradual technology uptake. Many practices still rely on faxing, phone calls, and siloed portals that create disconnected, inefficient, and costly workflows.
Are ePrescribing mandates coming to veterinary medicine?
Yes, just as ePrescribing mandates have reshaped human healthcare, veterinary medicine is expected to follow suit. Practices and pharmacies that adopt standards-based, DEA-certified ePrescribing early will be prepared for compliance and gain efficiency ahead of regulations.
How is human healthcare different from veterinary prescribing today?
Human health transitioned to true ePrescribing more than a decade ago through established, standardized prescribing networks that virtually eliminated fax-based workflows. Veterinary prescribing, however, still lacks a unified network, relying instead on manual faxes, phone calls, and disconnected pharmacy portals—slowing efficiency and increasing administrative costs.
What makes a platform truly ePrescribing?
A true ePrescribing platform must transmit prescriptions electronically using the 2023 NCPDP SCRIPT standard, support DEA EPCS certification, use two-factor authentication, and generate a verifiable digital audit trail. Any system involving faxing — even through a digital dashboard — is not compliant ePrescribing.
How can veterinary practices prepare for upcoming changes?
Practices can begin by adopting a standards-based prescribing network that supports structured data, interoperability, and DEA compliance. Moving away from fax-based workflows now helps streamline operations and ensures readiness for future regulations.