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Kansas News: Changes to a Schedule II Prescription
Published in the June 2010 Kansas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
The Kansas State Board of Pharmacy and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have “Frequently Asked Questions” on their Web pages to assist medical care professionals. There was much confusion recently when DEA changed its position on an interpretation of the law related to what changes can be made to a Schedule II prescription. Specifically, the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy and DEA previously permitted certain changes to Schedule II prescriptions after consulting with the prescriber. The pharmacist was never permitted to make changes to the patient’s name, controlled substance prescribed (except for generic substitution as permitted by Kansas law), or the prescriber’s signature. Recently, DEA advised the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy that it would no longer permit a pharmacist to make any changes to a Schedule II prescription. We put this information out to all pharmacies because DEA could fine the pharmacy for a practice that was previously permitted. After much discussion with DEA it has determined that a pharmacist must adhere to state regulations or policy regarding changes made to a Schedule II prescription after oral consultation with a prescriber.
Kansas Policy: Four (4) items on a Schedule II prescription may not be changed. They are the name of the patient, name of the drug (except for generic substitution), name of the prescriber, and the date of the prescription. The Kansas Board has determined that it is in the best interest of the patient to allow a pharmacist to add the patient’s address, the prescriber’s DEA number, and to select a dosage form if not indicated. These items must be on the front of the prescription. The following additions or changes may be made after oral consultation from the prescriber: add a date if not indicated on the prescription, change the drug strength, drug quantity, and the directions for use. The pharmacist should always document with his or her initials the time and date that the prescriber or the prescriber’s agent was contacted and remind the prescriber to document the changes in the patient’s chart. All Schedule II prescriptions shall be manually signed by the prescriber. Nothing else on the prescription is required to be in the prescriber’s own handwriting. We apologize for any confusion this issue may have created. We appreciate the physicians’ and pharmacists’ patience as we worked with DEA to come to an agreeable solution.
