Profession

New DEA rule allows extended scripts

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 3, 2007

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A new Drug Enforcement Administration rule will allow physicians to write up to three staggered-date prescriptions for Schedule II medications during a single patient encounter. Organized medicine groups welcomed the rule, which takes effect this month, because it reversed the DEA's previous ban on doctors' writing "do not fill until ..." prescriptions for medications such as opioid analgesics that fall under Schedule II.

AMA Trustee Rebecca J. Patchin, MD, said in a statement that the change will help patients avoid running out of drugs that help them manage their chronic pain. The new rule, she added, "will give patients better access to the prescription drugs they need and continue to minimize the risks controlled substances pose to public health and safety."

Under the rule, patients still can receive a 90-day prescription for Schedule II drugs when it is medically appropriate.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/12/03/prbf1203.htm.

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