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The Department of Health and Human Services has approved the use of a new standard lor electronic prescribing under the Medicare Part D drug benefit program. Clinicians now can use version 8.1 of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT Standard to prescribe electronically. Version 8.1 is backward compatible with version 5.0, which HHS last November approved as a foundation standard for electronic prescribing. This means that prescribers can continue to use version 5.0 or migrate to 8.1, as both now are acceptable national standards. Version 8.1, which was recommended to HHS by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, includes all functions of version 5.0, plus the ability to transmit medication history information.