New DEA Interpretation of Prescription Writing

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has removed the document ""Prescription Pain Medications: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Health Care Professionals and Law Enforcement Personnel," from its Web site, citing legal misstatements. A new interpretation by the DEA will have immediate impact on how Schedule II prescriptions are written and filled. The DEA now interprets the writing of multiple prescriptions on the same day with instructions to fill some of them on later dates as equal to an illegal refill. The Utah Physicians' Licensing Board has confirmed that doctors who stamp "Do Not Fill Until" on their Schedule II prescriptions may be violating federal law.

Click here to read the DEA's statement pertaining to this and other problems it found with the Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQ's had been the result of cooperation between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Last Acts Partnership and the Pain & Policy Studies Group, University of Wisconsin.

The UAPM has written a letter to the DEA Office of Diversion Control to ask for clarification and to take the position that post-dated prescriptions do not contribute to abuse and diversion of narcotics.
Click here to read the letter.