While many sources say that the DEA audits registrants every three year, in my experience as a pharmacy attorney it usually happens less frequently. But if you are a pharmacy owner or manager, it is likely that your business would be (or was) audited by the DEA at some point.
In the pharmacy context, the
Federal law requires an in-person medical evaluation before a practitioner may prescribe a controlled substance. Some exceptions, however, exist. One of them is a declared public health emergency.
On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services issued such a public health emergency.
On March 16, 2020, the Secretary and
Despite many articles, seminars, and educational opinions written on compliance and legal implications of dispensing, ordering, and storing controlled substances, it still remains the number one reason for disciplinary actions across the nation. This article focuses on the most cited violations of state or federal laws pertaining to working with the controlled substances.
In 2015, the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Lane Pharmacy passed away. The Pharmacy, however, carried on as nothing had happened. Allegedly, the Pharmacy continued to operate without a pharmacist. This “unusual” Pharmacy operated until 2017, when the California Board of Pharmacy received a complaint that non-licensed individuals were dispensing medications. The Board investigation revealed that
More and more states are mandating e-prescribing. Some states require e-prescribing only for CII controlled substances, some for all controlled substances, and some require e-scripts for all medications.
States with current e-Rx mandate laws are:
Despite warnings of likely abuse, the FDA has recently approved a new form of an extremely potent opioid – Dsuvia – a fast-acting alternative to IV painkillers. Dsuvia is a tablet form of sufentanil, which has been used since 1980s. The critics, however, point that Dsuvia “is 10 times stronger than fentanyl a parent drug
CURES (California state prescription history database) has been around since 1997 but not many providers took advantage of what it has to offer. Ignoring CURES is ignoring a tool that could shine light on what is really happening with the patient. News are full of stories describing opioid deaths, which could have been easily prevented
Last week, I was speaking in Strafford live webinar, “Prescription Audits: When the DEA or AG Come Knocking.” Our panel discussed the increased scrutiny of healthcare providers’ prescribing and dispensing practices by the DEA, audit preparation, and enforcement actions.
After the webinar, I received several questions regarding some of the points discussed and
In 2015, California permitted pharmacists to furnish Naloxone – the antidote drug for opioid overdose – without a prescription. Pursuant to AB 1535, pharmacists who wish to dispense naloxone must complete a one-hour training and briefly train its customers purchasing naloxone on its use. In addition, the protocol requires pharmacists to screen customers, provide
It’s getting harder and harder to fill an opioid prescription. Many pharmacies – particularly chains – are very reluctant to dispense them in the first place. Many require a patient to go through various procedural issues such as signing a lock-in contract. While others are capping the amount of opioids to be dispensed. The latter