CancelRx Message

Overview

CancelRx is a message type used to discontinue a previously sent prescription electronically through the Surescripts network. It allows prescribers to request cancellation of a NewRx that was previously sent to a pharmacy.

How to Send CancelRx Message

To send a CancelRx message, follow these steps:

1. Find the MedicationRequest you want to cancel.

2. Call the CancelRx API endpoint: POST /e-prescription/rx/cancel Expected payload is a medication request identifier. Unlike NewRx which accepts a group identifier to send multiple prescriptions at once, CancelRx operates on a single MedicationRequest since cancellations are handled individually per prescription. This allows for more granular control when discontinuing specific medications.

3. Monitor the status of the cancellation using the status fields.

Required FHIR Resources

CancelRx requires the same FHIR resources as NewRx message, with identical validation rules and required fields. The only difference is that for CancelRx the MedicationRequest must be in either "active" or "completed" status.

Status Management

The cancellation status is tracked via two extensions on MedicationRequest:

• medication-request-cancellation-status: Tracks the cancellation workflow status

• medication-request-cancellation-status-reason: Contains details about the current status

Main MedicationRequest status values remain same as for NewRx. The system will track cancellation workflow via status extensions until we receive a final response from the pharmacy. Only upon receiving a positive cancellation acknowledgment, the MedicationRequest status will be updated to cancelled. This helps maintain clear audit trail of prescription state transitions.

It's expected to get a response from pharmacy within 48 hours. If no response is received within this time frame, status will be updated to unknown _{(since 2.0)}.

Status flow