| Update on New Legislation AB 1753 – Controlled Substance Prescriptions |
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by Arutyun “Harry” Sarkissian, PharmD. and Janice Hoffman, PharmD., EdD, APh, BCGP, FASCP Introduction by Flora Y. Bessey, Pharm.D., BCGP Dr. Harry Sarkissian brings us an enlightening summary of AB 1753, which addresses controlled substances and the efforts of the California legislature to increase security and decrease fraud and theft of controlled substances. This bill is very specific about PAPER prescriptions, and applies some very strict guidelines about how these scripts need to be written. As we all know, much of the correspondence between our facilities and our pharmacies is via FAX, or scan and FAX/email. The paper that must be used now will show a large “VOID” across the prescription when the FAX/scan is received by the pharmacy. This is an effort to prevent copies of prescriptions being used to generate fraudulent paper prescriptions that could then be filled at any pharmacy. However, there is well-founded concern that some pharmacists would be reluctant to fill a prescription that is marked “VOID!” We may be able to mitigate this with appropriate training of our bench pharmacists, but it is certainly a consideration. There is also the consideration of “continuance” letters the pharmacy is presently sending to prescribers as a reminder that an updated prescription is required for ongoing therapy. This is almost exclusively being done via fax. Usually the prescriber will sign the fax, and resend. With the new law, unless the fax arrives and is printed on the “special” paper, the continuance-letter script that the prescriber resends will not be valid. The California state officials have not ironed out how this will be managed or what is required. Simply put, the DEA has one set of requirements, the board of pharmacy another, the state a third set. How this will all play out is unclear, as this all went into effect only a few weeks ago. There is also mention of a grace period until July 1, 2019 for prescribers to get the correct prescribing pads. It is important to note that if a prescriber utilizes e-prescribing, this bill has little to no effect upon their practice. Yet another reason for our prescribers to take advantage of today’s technology to better serve our patient population! Click here to see my article on e-prescribing. I advise you meet with your consultant pharmacist. Understand what your pharmacy provider is going to require of you to avoid any “slow down” in the system/process. Also very important to note: a “slowdown” could result in poor outcomes with regards to patient pain, as well as safety. Update on New Legislation AB 1753 – Controlled Substance Prescriptions by Arutyun “Harry” Sarkissian, PharmD. and Janice Hoffman, PharmD., EdD, APh, BCGP, FASCP AB 1753: The purpose of this bill is to increase security and decrease fraud and theft of controlled substances. Key notable points of AB 1753 are:
The Medical Board of California has developed an information page which lists and addresses all the requirements of a prescription pad in a detailed format. The Medical Board of California has also released a memo to all prescribing physicians addressing these changes that have taken place on January 1, 2019. AB 1753 can be found and review in completion on the California legislative Information web site:
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