Troubleshooting Prescription Errors in Canvas Medical
Last updated: June 2, 2026
If a prescription does not send successfully, the next step depends on whether the prescription is controlled or non-controlled, where the error appears, and whether the issue is caused by missing data, authentication, or pharmacy transmission.
This FAQ covers the most common prescription errors in Canvas Medical and how to resolve them.
Before you begin
If a prescription shows an Error badge, hover over the error badge next to the triple dot menu on the command to view more detail before troubleshooting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my prescription fail to send?
Prescription errors usually fall into one of these categories:
Missing or invalid patient information
Missing or invalid staff information
DrFirst authentication issues for controlled substances
Invalid characters or formatting in prescription fields
Pharmacy or network transmission errors
Review the error message and use the sections below to identify the most likely cause.
Does the patient need a full address to send a prescription?
Yes. Patients must have at least one complete address in their profile to facilitate proper prescription delivery.
The address must include:
street
city
state
ZIP code
country
The address settings must also be configured as:
Type: postal or both
Use: home
What does Error Code 100 mean when sending a controlled substance?
Error Code 100 usually means DrFirst rejected the prescription because required data did not pass validation.
Common causes include:
The patient’s Sex at Birth is missing or not set to Male or Female
The patient address is incomplete
The patient address is not set up as a valid home or postal address
The patient name contains unsupported special characters
The prescription instructions or pharmacist note contain line breaks or unsupported characters
How to fix it
Open the patient chart
Confirm the patient has a complete address with street, city, state, ZIP code, and country
Confirm the address Type is set to postal or both
Confirm the address Use is set to home
Confirm Sex at Birth is set to Male or Female
Remove special characters from the patient name if present
Remove line breaks or unusual characters from the SIG and Notes to pharmacist fields
Send the prescription again
What does a 500 error mean?
A 500 error usually indicates a transmission or pharmacy-side problem.
How to fix it
Confirm the selected pharmacy is still in business
Search for the pharmacy online to verify it is still open
If the pharmacy has closed, create a new Prescribe command and send the medication to a different pharmacy
What does a 900 error mean?
A 900 error means the pharmacy did not accept the medication.
Common reasons include:
temporary downtime at the pharmacy
the pharmacy does not dispense the prescribed medication
the patient’s insurance is not accepted by the pharmacy
If you receive this error, confirm the pharmacy can dispense the medication and that it is an appropriate pharmacy for the patient’s insurance.
What if the prescription is stuck in Pending?
For controlled substances, Pending usually means the prescription was sent from Canvas to the DrFirst signing workflow, but the signing process was not completed.
This commonly happens if the signing window was closed before the provider finished entering the passphrase and one-time password.
How to fix it
If the DrFirst signing process was not completed, the original prescription cannot be resent. Create a new command instead:
use Adjust Prescription for a current medication
use Refill for a refill
use Prescribe to issue a new prescription
Review the existing medication before sending a replacement so you do not create duplicate entries in the chart.
Why did I get an authentication failed or access denied message?
This message appears on the DrFirst screen and usually means there is a DrFirst authentication problem for a controlled substance prescription.
Most of the time, this means there is an issue with the provider’s passphrase.
The passphrase should not include special characters
If the passphrase was forgotten, it must be reset in DrFirst
Other possible causes include:
incorrect OTP
expired OTP
wrong token selected
device clock not synchronized correctly
How to fix it
Re-enter the passphrase carefully
Generate a fresh OTP and submit it before it expires
Confirm the selected token matches the token shown in your VIP Access app
Make sure your phone’s date and time are set to update automatically
Reset the passphrase in DrFirst if needed
If the problem continues, review DrFirst’s troubleshooting guide for additional steps.
What does “Name does not match prescriber information” mean?
This error appears in DrFirst when the provider’s name in their Canvas staff profile does not match the name listed on their medical license.
How to fix it
Update the provider’s name in their staff profile so it matches their licensed name
Create a new prescription
What does “Staff for specified staff_key is missing an address” mean?
This usually means the prescribing provider has a supervising physician with an incomplete staff profile.
How to fix it
Update the supervising physician’s staff profile so it includes a complete address with street, city, state, and ZIP code. After the profile is updated, try sending the prescription again.
Can special characters cause prescription errors?
Yes. Some prescription integrations do not accept special characters in patient names or prescription fields.
This can affect:
patient names
SIG instructions
pharmacist notes
other free-text fields
How to fix it
Remove unsupported special characters and re-enter the text using plain letters, numbers, and standard punctuation where possible. Also remove line breaks from prescription instructions before sending.
Why won’t a controlled-substance prescription open the DrFirst signing window?
If the DrFirst signing window does not appear, confirm that:
the provider is fully enrolled for EPCS
the provider’s DrFirst access is active
the correct prescribing workflow is being used
If enrollment or token setup is incomplete, the provider may not be able to finish the prescription.
Why did my refill error from the patient summary?
Refills will error if they are being refilled from a free text medication statement.
You can determine this by hovering over the medication in the patient summary and checking whether it is a free text medication entry.
If the medication was documented as a free text medication statement, create a new prescription instead of using the refill workflow.
What does Error status mean on a prescription?
An Error status means the prescription was not successfully transmitted.
This can happen because of:
missing patient or staff information
invalid formatting
pharmacy data issues
third-party transmission failures
What to do next
Review the prescription details
Confirm patient and staff records are complete
Remove unsupported formatting
Retry the prescription
If the error continues after reviewing the chart data, contact support with the exact error message, whether the prescription is controlled or non-controlled, the prescribing provider, and the pharmacy name.
What if the pharmacy information is wrong?
In some cases, a prescription may fail because the receiving pharmacy record is outdated or invalid.
Examples include:
incorrect pharmacy address
outdated NPI or routing details
third-party pharmacy directory mismatch
If the error appears tied to a specific pharmacy, try selecting the pharmacy again or choosing the correct matching location from the search results.
Why did the prescription fail after I entered all the required fields?
Some required values may still be incomplete or invalid, even if the command looks filled out.
Examples include:
missing quantity to dispense
invalid refill values
unsupported text formatting
incomplete patient demographics
incomplete staff demographics
Review the full command carefully before resending.
When should I contact support?
Contact support if:
you corrected the patient and staff data but still see the same error
the issue affects multiple users or multiple prescriptions
the error appears to be a transmission or system issue
the prescription status does not update after retrying
you suspect a pharmacy directory or third-party integration problem
the reason for the error still cannot be determined
When you contact support, include the exact error text and whether the issue occurs for controlled or non-controlled prescriptions.