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New federal schedule II controlled substance prescribing rule
The Drug Enforcement Admin- istration (DEA) published a new rule Nov. 19 affecting how physicians prescribe schedule II drugs. Federal and state prescribing laws prohibit issuing refills for schedule II controlled substances. Longstanding debate existed about whether this meant patients had to see
their doctors every 30 days for a script.
Effective Dec. 17, the DEA rule allows physicians to provide individual patients with multiple prescriptions for the same schedule II controlled substance, to be filled sequentially, with the combined effect of allowing patients to receive over time up to a 90-day supply of that controlled substance.
Although federal law is changing, Indiana law is not. The ISMA asked state officials if they will allow issuance of multiple prescriptions; to date, they have not provided a position on the matter.
Therefore, physicians should not assume the DEA rule complies with Indiana law. The ISMA will continue to seek information from the state. Call ISMA’s Legal Department if you have questions.
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