Dispensing controls for animals

[MARX22]

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Hey guys,

When I worked as an intern way back when, there were a few animals we had meds for although I dont remember what meds they got... but they had profiles under their own names like Gunner Dog (animal was a dog, his name was Gunner). Hypothetically, if it was a medication for a control, does it matter what format we save the name as in their profile? I'm in NY and whatever controls are dispensed will upload to the PMP so I'm curious if it matters what name you give the profile. Thanks

 

[pharminfl]

whats the age limits on your states PMP? In Florida it only starts at 16y/o so most pets dont get submitted

 

[johnpharm01]

I would suggest putting the name as "fluffy cat smith" or "pedro dog gonzales" this way it is apparent on its face why a vet would be prescribing it, also prevents some misfills. In my state vets get into trouble if they prescribe for humans.

 

[MARX22]

whats the age limits on your states PMP? In Florida it only starts at 16y/o so most pets dont get submitted

Honestly, I have no idea about an age limit on PMP for ny but i do know that we are not required to check it (even though i do for humans lol)

 

[MARX22]

I would suggest putting the name as "fluffy cat smith" or "pedro dog gonzales" this way it is apparent on its face why a vet would be prescribing it, also prevents some misfills. In my state vets get into trouble if they prescribe for humans.

Good point. Yea i would assume they’d get in trouble bc its “out of their scope,” but as a pharmacist tbh im not always looking at their suffix to see what type of prescriber it is. Who has time? 🙁

 

[johnpharm01]

Good point. Yea i would assume they’d get in trouble bc its “out of their scope,” but as a pharmacist tbh im not always looking at their suffix to see what type of prescriber it is. Who has time? 🙁

Make the mistake of filling a control written by a vet for a person and get caught by BOP, then disciplined and i guarantee you will take more time. Its not that hard. You will probably fill rxs fro the same prescribers at a given store most of the time. So memorize the drs specialty and you can't go wrong. Also its pays to scan each prescription to pick up on any oddities it takes just a few seconds.

 

[MARX22]

Make the mistake of filling a control written by a vet for a person and get caught by BOP, then disciplined and i guarantee you will take more time. Its not that hard. You will probably fill rxs fro the same prescribers at a given store most of the time. So memorize the drs specialty and you can't go wrong. Also its pays to scan each prescription to pick up on any oddities it takes just a few seconds.

It doesnt say their specialty next to the prescribers name sometimes like pa or md. We use e-rxs. Will it always specify if DVM? If so, I do look up there but sometimes when it doesn’t say md pa np, i dont bother looking it up anymore

 

[akaykay]

I use to hate filling controls for pets because I knew some of those pet owners were on the same med (e.g., tramadol, dilaudid). Things that make you go hmmm

 

[johnpharm01]

I would be worried about dilaudid. I have never seen a vet use dilaudid

 

[owlegrad]

I use to hate filling controls for pets because I knew some of those pet owners were on the same med (e.g., tramadol, dilaudid). Things that make you go hmmm

Yup, I had a patient that her and her cat both took Xanax. It did indeed make me go "hmmmmm".

 

[MARX22]

does it always say DVM next to the prescribers name? It doesnt always say md, DO etc next to it

 

[MARX22]

Yup, I had a patient that her and her cat both took Xanax. It did indeed make me go "hmmmmm".

oh man, what did you do?

 

[akaykay]

I would be worried about dilaudid. I have never seen a vet use dilaudid

I questioned it too, actually a couple of times with the vet, but it was indeed for a legitimate medical condition. Funny thing is that the pet owner was adopting these type of pets with this condition only

 

[owlegrad]

oh man, what did you do?

Got out of retail. *shrug*

In all seriousness, I dispensed the medications. What else is there to do? Refuse because they might be diverting? In that case might as well just refuse all control scripts. Really I never did figure where a good place to “draw the line” is. I hated that aspect of the job so, so much.

 

[johnpharm01]

Got out of retail. *shrug*

In all seriousness, I dispensed the medications. What else is there to do? Refuse because they might be diverting? In that case might as well just refuse all control scripts. Really I never did figure where a good place to “draw the line” is. I hated that aspect of the job so, so much.

Its difficult decide which rxs to refuse and which to allow. On one hand you don't want people (or dogs) who need meds go without, but at the same time you don't want to feed what looks like abuse. I always fall back on the law and basic practice principles. Fakes, out of scope rxs and people with multiple sources of pain management just are not going to cut it.

 

[johnpharm01]

I questioned it too, actually a couple of times with the vet, but it was indeed for a legitimate medical condition. Funny thing is that the pet owner was adopting these type of pets with this condition only

That's a big enough red flag there.

 

[MARX22]

Its difficult decide which rxs to refuse and which to allow. On one hand you don't want people (or dogs) who need meds go without, but at the same time you don't want to feed what looks like abuse. I always fall back on the law and basic practice principles. Fakes, out of scope rxs and people with multiple sources of pain management just are not going to cut it.

I check the pmp and sometimes its diff drs that theyre getting controls from but isnt it possible that its a clinic or office with different doctors? It would be impossible to refuse rxs just bc its from diff drs, no?

As for scope, i agree we should pay attention on it for controls if not for the rest but i havent even come across a vet rx as a pharmacist, just intern so i dont remember n didnt pay attention to the header. It should say DVM tho. Does anyone google Npi’s to see specialty lol

 

[NITRAS]

Ok. I have to ask.... pmp for a dog? It really exists?

 

[MARX22]

Ok. I have to ask.... pmp for a dog? It really exists?

Lmaooooo i only saw an animal rx as an intern so i really dont know haha

 

[MARX22]

Ok. I have to ask.... pmp for a dog? It really exists?

I should clarify, by pmp and diff prescribers, i meant for ppl lmao

 

[NITRAS]

🙂

 

[BidingMyTime]

Yup, I had a patient that her and her cat both took Xanax. It did indeed make me go "hmmmmm".

Was the cat always going on vacation and requiring an early refill, or accidently dropping the xanax in it's litter box?

 

[owlegrad]

Was the cat always going on vacation and requiring an early refill, or accidently dropping the xanax in it's litter box?

As I recall (and keep in mind it has been years now) I *think* she only had to take it for thunderstorms. Which we happened to have 365 days a year. 😉

Actually the cat one really wasn't that bad. In my heart I suspect that thunderstorms scarred the owner and she projected that onto her cat. So probably whenever there was a thunderstorm her and the cat took a Xanax for it. There were no issues with excessive refills or other red flags so while I found it humorous I wasn't overly concerned about diversion in that case. (I know, there is a sucker born every minute.)

I had another patient who took Ativan for "fear of flying" #30. She got her refills as though she flew everyday. When I questioned the MD about it he said the fear of flying was a mistake and asked me to strike it from the script. Next month she brought the exact same script with the same SIG. I took her I wouldn't fill it unless she got the doctor to fix it first (I wasn't go to call every month). Lo and behold I never say her again. I wish they could have all been that easy/straight forward.

 

[johnpharm01]

I check the pmp and sometimes its diff drs that theyre getting controls from but isnt it possible that its a clinic or office with different doctors? It would be impossible to refuse rxs just bc its from diff drs, no?

As for scope, i agree we should pay attention on it for controls if not for the rest but i havent even come across a vet rx as a pharmacist, just intern so i dont remember n didnt pay attention to the header. It should say DVM tho. Does anyone google Npi’s to see specialty lol

I wouldn't necessarily refuse to fill an rx just because there are two drs prescribing narcotics usually its multiple reasons (abnormalities) that cannot be resolved so multilple mds, simultaneous rxs, early fills in the absence of a legitimate medical reason or rationale. Usually the drs practice name will reveal their position. If you work in the same location the drs will tend to be the same.