Entries Tagged 'Controlled Substances' ↓
September 8th, 2009 — Controlled Substances
A shift from handwritten to computer-generated prescriptions was associated with a substantial increase in the proportion of controlled substances prescribed out in a New York hospital.
The removal of an impediment to prescription writing was linked to the rise in Schedule II opioids and benzodiazepines prescriptions at the emergency department of the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in New York, researchers claimed.
“Simple regulatory changes and lifting of barriers, such as the utilization of electronic prescriptions, can make significant changes to practice patterns and may change the way patients are treated,” the authors wrote in a study published recently by the Academy Emergency Medicine journal.
The study compared the changes in opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions before and after the New York State implemented the “Official Prescription Program,” which was designed to reduce the amount of drugs diverted from legitimate medical use by preventing alterations, forgeries and counterfeiting of prescriptions.
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July 30th, 2009 — Controlled Substances
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) unveiled last year proposed regulations that would provide physicians and authorized prescribers with the option of issuing electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.
The agency had sought public comment on DEA’s draft rule #1117-AA61, titled “Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances.” One year later, stakeholders are still waiting for DEA’s final decision to lift the e-prescribing moratorium on controlled substances.
In one of the recent developments, a bi-partisan group of senators has sent a letter in May to Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for a final resolution on the proposal.
The 11 senators, who signed the letter, said, “E-prescribing is held back by the DEA,” which requires a parallel paper system for scheduled pharmaceuticals. “Obviously, having to run two systems compromises any savings from e-prescribing,” they wrote.
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