Text Box: The new Public Health Law to combat prescription fraud will go into full effect on April 19, 2006, when all prescriptions written in New York—for both controlled and non-controlled substances—must be written on an official New York State prescription. Important information about the new law is contained in the points below and in the ‘Questions and Answers for Pharmacists’ that follow: New York hospitals and their affiliated clinics are exempt from the requirement for their staff practitioners to prescribe on official prescriptions until April 19, 2007. The exemption applies only to the prescribing of non-controlled substances. Official prescriptions generated by practitioners using printers in an electronic medical record system (EMR) will contain a variety of different formats and fonts. All are valid for dispensing if they contain all information required by New York law. Beginning April 19, 2006, pharmacists may fill non-official prescriptions from New York practitioners for non-controlled substances until October 19, 2006. The pharmacist must also notify the Official Prescription Program of the prescribing practitioner so he/she may be issued official prescriptions for subsequent prescribing. Pharmacists may continue to fill non-official prescriptions issued by out-of-state practitioners if the prescriptions contain all information required by New York law. Questions and Answers for Pharmacists Regarding the New Official Prescription Program 1. Beginning April 19, 2006, can I dispense a non-official prescription that is dated on or after April 19, 2006? A. Yes, provided that: The prescription is not for a controlled substance; the prescription is regarded as a written memorandum to an oral prescription; and the pharmacist must report the name of the prescribing practitioner to the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Pharmacists may do so on a form obtained by contacting the Bureau at 1-866-811-7957. 2. Are prescriptions and their refills valid if they are not written on the official prescription and are dated before April 19, 2006? A. Yes. Prescriptions issued before April 19th, including the refills of such prescriptions, are valid. 3. Can a practitioner place a sticker on the official prescription that

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Text Box: Page # Text Box: Expansion of Official New York State Prescription Program

                 a) contains the patient's information; and/or

                 b) contains the drug name and directions.

A.             No.  As of April 19, 2006, practitioners will no longer be able to place stickers on official prescriptions because they compromise the security features of the official prescription.

4.              How do you define "staff physician/practitioner"?

A.             A staff practitioner means a practitioner who is employed by, has admission privileges with, or is otherwise affiliated with a registered facility.   

5.              Can the new official prescriptions be faxed without obstructing the information written on the prescription?

A.             Yes. However, when a practitioner sends an official prescription via fax, the words “void” appear in the background of the prescription. This is a security feature of the official prescription to prevent it from being photocopied. As with any prescription, if the pharmacist is not familiar with the practitioner or patient, it would be prudent to verify the authenticity of the prescription before dispensing.

6.              Will New York State pharmacies still honor prescriptions written by an out-of-state practitioner?

A.             Yes.  New York State pharmacies can fill out-of-state prescriptions as long as they contain all the information required by NYS Law.   Out-of-state prescriptions do not need to be written on NYS Official Prescription forms.  The information from dispensing of out-of-state controlled substances prescriptions must be reported to the Department of Health by the 15th of the month following the month in which the dispensing took place.  In the serial number fields, pharmacists should submit eight of the letter "Z".

7.              Are hospital clinics also exempt from using official prescriptions under the new law?  Will the new form replace the pads practitioners are using now?

A.             The exemption from the requirement to use official prescriptions to prescribe non-controlled substances also applies to clinics that are listed on the hospital's operating certificate.  It is important to note that an official prescription is always required for the prescribing of controlled substances.  All single-part official prescriptions are valid for prescribing controlled substances.

8.  Can a pharmacist accept an electronic prescription for a controlled substance?

A.  No.  Currently, only prescriptions for non-controlled substances may be transmitted from a practitioner to a pharmacy by electronic means.  Electronic prescriptions must be transmitted in compliance with requirements established by the New York State Board of Pharmacy.  For more information, please contact the NYS Board of Pharmacy at (518) 474- 3848 ext 130.

 

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