Controlled Substance Ordering System – CSOS
Pharmaceutical Inventory and Accounting Software
What is CSOS?
CSOS allows distributors, pharmacies and manufacturers to transmit Schedule II (CII) orders electronically. This DEA approved legal process is based on regulations that allow CII items to be ordered electronically, assuming certain criteria have been met.
CSOS is built into Blue Link’s B2B Online Order Portal for distribution businesses, in order to allow pharmacies and other customers to place orders online for Schedule II drugs.
Controlled Substance Ordering System Demo Video
Blue Link CSOS Features and Benefits:
- Secure electronic transmission of orders for Schedule II (C2) class drugs via B2B Online Order Portal
- Eliminates the need for customers to complete and mail/courier DEA Form 222
- Allows for Schedule II sales orders to be submitted in minutes not days
- Eliminates the need for customers to submit separate sales orders for C2 and “other” products
- Suppliers can receive orders from an unlimited number of registered customers using CSOS
- Detailed logs of the communication showing that the customer’s certificate was valid at the time of purchase
- Automatically generate and upload mandatory CSOS Reports every 48 hours
- Unlimited CSOS transactions for one monthly fee – no individual transaction fee
- Fully integrated as an out-of-the-box Pharmaceutical ERP solution
Blue Link’s CSOS is DEA Certified as of March 28, 2017.
“With the help of Blue Link CSOS we saw a 42.5% increase in sales to $1.425M from April 2017 to May 2017”
-Russel Patterson, Independent Pharmacy Distributor
A History of CSOS
The inception of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) dates back to the 1970’s, and ever since, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has continued to regulate the method through which Schedule II controlled substances can be purchased. The information included in the act dictates that for a company to place an order for Schedule II controlled substances with their trading partners, the following criteria must be met:
- They must be registered with the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act
- They must complete and deliver a DEA Form 222 to the supplier prior to the order being processed and shipped
For trading partners supplying C2 products, the following criteria must be met:
- They must be registered with the DEA for CSOS Reporting, in order to submit mandatory reports to the DEA every 48 hours
Historically, the process for completing and submitting a DEA 222 Form has been manual and involves filling out a pre-printed form by hand, and then mailing or couriering the form to the supplier. It is estimated that this process takes between 1-3 days when using a courier, and even longer if the form is being sent via regular mail. The idea is that this process allows the DEA to monitor the movement of C2 products, however the time to process an order and the associated costs are quite excessive.
In the early 2000’s, the DEA approved a method to allow companies to issue Schedule II controlled substance orders electronically without the need to physically mail the 222 Form. This led suppliers to acquire 3rd party software systems for use by their customers that allowed for this process -also known as Controlled Substance Ordering Systems (CSOS).
Due to the security measures enforced by the DEA and CSOS certification, software vendors must be certified by the DEA before they can provide true CSOS functionality.
CSOS Resources:
“The Blue Link ERP Controlled Substance Ordering System is an exciting innovation for pharmaceutical distributors. For the first time, pharmaceutical distributors get DEA certified CSOS functionality as part of an all-in-one ERP solution. This gives them a competitive edge by allowing them to serve their customers quicker and more efficiently.”
– Darren Myher, CTO, Blue Link ERP
Is CSOS Right for Your Business?
Although the benefits of CSOS are clear, it does not necessarily make sense for every business dealing with Schedule II controlled substances to implement a solution with CSOS functionality. The amount of time and money spent on mailing and couriering DEA 222 Forms will vary depending on a company’s order volume.
For those businesses with a high volume of orders for C2 products, CSOS provides an opportunity for pharmaceutical suppliers to offer their customers an easy electronic method for submitting the necessary information as a value-added service that will save these customers time and money.
If a customer is only placing a small number of orders for Schedule II controlled substances, or the need for fast turnaround of the order is not important, the manual processes involved are often sufficient.
To better determine if your wholesale distribution business can benefit from CSOS functionality, consider the following:
- Are you missing out on business by not being able to sell product to pharmaceutical customers that prefer to only purchase items through CSOS?
- Would you be able to sell a higher volume of C2 products if the order process was simplified with CSOS?
- Do you want to provide a better customer service experience to your customers?
- Would the addition of CSOS give your company a competitive advantage?
HDA Member:
As an HDA member, Blue Link ERP has access to networking opportunities, research, member-developed education and resources for the healthcare supply chain. This aids Blue Link in closely monitoring the progression of DSCSA requirements and other industry regulations to stay ahead of changes and updates.