11162.1 (Page 358) have a list of items to have on prescription pads, the refill boxes is #10.
There's been an issue lately with nearby Walmarts rejecting all control prescriptions without the boxes and we were getting hit with an influx of their patients coming in to try their luck. There was an email sent out two days ago from board of pharmacy (
). I don't know if BOP posted it anywhere else, but the copy and paste of the email:
Background:
California Health and Safety Code section 11162.1 contains 14 elements that
must appear on California Security Forms, the forms used to prescribe controlled substances in California*. These elements were first enacted in 2003 when the triplicate prescription form was discontinued. The law also requires that California Security Forms must be printed by CA Department of Justice licensed printers. In 2006, the law was amended again to make several changes that took effect in January 2007. Finally legislation enacted in 2011 required that the California Security Forms in use must be fully compliant with all requirements of the Health and Safety Code by July 1, 2012.
Here is a link to the required elements in the Health and Safety Code (go to page 357):
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/lawbook.pdf
In recent years, the board has continued to identify noncompliant California Security Forms in use that have been filled by California pharmacies, in violation of the Health and Safety Code requirements. The board’s response upon identification of noncompliant forms having been used to dispense controlled drugs is to educate the licensee, and to cite and fine the pharmacy/pharmacists involved. Typically the licensing board for the prescriber is advised as well.
Recently some pharmacies have begun to refuse to fill prescriptions written on noncompliant forms where item 11162.1(a)(10) is not fully compliant with the required elements. One of these elements is
“ Check boxes shall be printed on the form so that the prescriber may indicate the number of refills ordered.” There are also additional elements missing on some forms, including lack of a watermark on the reverse of the form.
The board recently has received complaints from patients or prescribers whose patients have been denied medication from the pharmacy because of the noncompliant forms.
Interim Solutions
- Prescribers and dispensers need to become familiar with the 14 required elements of the security prescription forms.
- Prescribers with noncompliant forms should reorder compliant forms from a DOJ-licensed security printer.
- Prescribers with noncompliant forms should consider using e-prescribing for controlled substances.
Additionally:
- Schedule III -V controlled substances may be filled (and refilled) if the pharmacist treats the prescription as an oral prescription and verifies orally with the prescriber the number of any refills ordered with notations on the security form.
- California law provides that Schedule II drugs cannot generally be orally prescribed, nor can they be refilled using a California Security Prescription. However, when there is no alternative except to prescribe a Schedule II controlled medication using a noncompliant California Security Form to allow patients to receive their pain medications timely, prescribers and dispensers should communicate about why a noncompliant California Security Form is being used on a temporary basis.
*Please note this exception to the security forms requirements: controlled substances prescriptions written for patients with a terminal illness may be written on ordinary prescription forms pursuant to section 11159.2 of the Health &Safety Code – here is a link (see page 352):
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/lawbook.pdf
Then the question is... does it literally have to contain BOXES? There are prescriber forms that have "Refills: NR 1 2 3 4 5" where prescriber circles and it seems like Walmart has been rejected those too because there are no actual boxes. (Some patients have gotten creative and tried drawing the boxes in themselves, but we had to turn them away last week while we looked into the issue)
