{"data":{"id":"us-co/c.r.s.-12-30-111","jurisdiction":"us-co","citation":"C.R.S. § 12-30-111","heading":"Electronic prescribing of controlled substances - exceptions - rules - definitions.","body":"(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, on and after July 1, 2021, a prescriber shall prescribe a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), that is included in schedule II, III, or IV pursuant to part 2 of article 18 of title 18, only by electronic prescription transmitted to a pharmacy unless:\n\n(I) At the time of issuing the prescription, electronic prescribing is not available due to technological or electrical failure;\n\n(II) The prescription is to be dispensed at a pharmacy that is located outside of this state;\n\n(III) The prescriber is dispensing the controlled substance to the patient;\n\n(IV) The prescription includes elements that are not supported by the most recent version of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT Standard and 21 CFR 1311;\n\n(V) The federal food and drug administration or drug enforcement administration requires the prescription for the particular controlled substance to contain elements that cannot be satisfied with electronic prescribing;\n\n(VI) The prescription is not specific to a patient and allows dispensing of the prescribed controlled substance:\n\n(A) Pursuant to a standing order, approved protocol of drug therapy, or collaborative drug management or comprehensive medication management plan;\n\n(B) In response to a public health emergency; or\n\n(C) Under other circumstances that permit the prescriber to issue a prescription that is not patient-specific;\n\n(VII) The prescription is for a controlled substance under a research protocol;\n\n(VIII) The prescriber writes twenty-four or fewer prescriptions for controlled substances per year;\n\n(IX) The prescriber is prescribing a controlled substance to be administered to a patient in a hospital, nursing care facility, hospice care facility, dialysis treatment clinic, or assisted living residence or to a person who is in the custody of the department of corrections;\n\n(X) The prescriber reasonably determines that the patient would be unable to obtain controlled substances prescribed electronically in a timely manner and that the delay would adversely affect the patient's medical condition; or\n\n(XI) The prescriber demonstrates economic hardship in accordance with rules adopted by the regulator pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section.\n\n(b) A prescriber who is a licensed dentist or who is practicing in a rural area of the state or in a practice consisting of only one prescriber shall comply with this subsection (1) on and after July 1, 2023.\n\n(2) The regulator for each prescriber subject to this section shall adopt rules:\n\n(a) Defining what constitutes a temporary technological or electrical failure for purposes of subsection (1)(a)(I) of this section; and\n\n(b) Defining economic hardship for purposes of subsection (1)(a)(XI) of this section and establishing:\n\n(I) The process for a prescriber to demonstrate economic hardship, including the information required to be submitted to allow the regulator to make a determination;\n\n(II) The period during which the economic hardship exception is effective, which period must not exceed one year; and\n\n(III) A process for a prescriber to apply to renew an economic hardship exception, including the information required to be submitted that demonstrates the prescriber's continuing need for the exception.\n\n(3) (a) This section does not:\n\n(I) Create a private right of action;\n\n(II) Serve as the basis of a cause of action; or\n\n(III) Establish a standard of care.\n\n(b) A violation of this section does not constitute negligence per se or contributory negligence per se.\n\n(4) As used in this section:\n\n(a) \"Prescriber\" means:\n\n(I) A dentist licensed pursuant to article 220 of this title 12;\n\n(II) A physician or physician assistant licensed pursuant to article 240 of this title 12;\n\n(III) An advanced practice registered nurse or certified midwife with prescriptive authority pursuant to section 12-255-112;\n\n(IV) An optometrist licensed pursuant to article 275 of this title 12; or\n\n(V) A podiatrist licensed pursuant to article 290 of this title 12.\n\n(b) \"Rural area\" means a county located in a nonmetropolitan area in the state that either:\n\n(I) Has no municipality within its territorial boundaries with fifty thousand or more permanent residents based upon the most recent population estimates published by the United States census bureau; or\n\n(II) Satisfies alternate criteria for the designation of a rural area as may be promulgated by the federal office of management and budget.","path":["Title 12 - PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS","Article 30 - Provisions Applicable to Health-Care Professions and Occupations","Part 1 - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS"],"source_url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-12.htm","current_through":"Colorado Revised Statutes 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:37:45Z","sha256":"8ab9723ae519421d87769f719cb2f571c3ff036e2b97dadf9c6cfbf6f85e6533","source_id":"us-co","stale":false,"prev":"us-co/c.r.s.-12-30-110","next":"us-co/c.r.s.-12-30-112"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}