They actually must be sent electronically now in NY, or at least that’s how my doctor explained it to me.

I’d assumed that was for all prescriptions, but it could just be controlled substances.

This makes sense because information about controlled substance prescriptions are stored in a central registry so law enforcement or other government agents can review them easily. The federal regs only apply to controlled substances, so the e-script systems 'probably' direct controlled substance scrips to the DEA registry. But, the health providers, insurance companies, health systems, pharmacies networks/chains, and so on, are probably keeping a copy of everything.

I was recently told by a pharmacist that this applies to _all_ prescriptions in NY. YMMV, though.

Interesting! Maybe it's a Washington State thing then.