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Kentucky News: Psuedoephedrine Sales Electronically
Published in the June 2008 Kentucky Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
The passage of SB 88 in 2007 allowed the Commonwealth of Kentucky to link all pharmacies in the Commonwealth to one centrally located database. By linking together into one database, each pharmacy’s psuedoephedrine (PSE) related transaction information will be captured for the purpose of preventing methamphetamine production. With this system in place, both law enforcement and pharmacies benefit significantly. Pharmacies will benefit by having a system that automatically limits the amount of PSE products sold to each customer, based on both state and federal purchase requirements, thus keeping pharmacies in full compliance with the law. Law enforcement will benefit by having an investigative tool that allows them to track those customers attempting to violate PSE restrictions. It should be noted that this only applies to retail over-the-counter sales of PSE in tablet or caplet form. Those pharmacies that only dispense PSE by prescription are automatically exempt.
The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy selected MethCheck™, powered by Appriss, Inc, to provide this electronic PSE monitoring solution. To effectively achieve our deployment schedule and to fulfill the requirements listed in 906 KAR 1:160, all pharmacies in the state must agree to comply with the electronic reporting requirements by June 1, 2008.
In order to accomplish a statewide deployment rollout by this date, Appriss will work with the corporate contacts of most major pharmacy chains in the state to develop an application programming interface (API) that will extract limited PSE transaction information from each chain pharmacy. Appriss will also set up user accounts for all independent (and some chain) pharmacies to use its MethCheck Rx Web portal application. With this application all that is required is a computer and an Internet connection; there is no hardware or software to install. MethCheck Rx is Appriss’ Web-based solution for gathering limited PSE transaction information. With these two methods, API and MethCheck Rx, all pharmacies in the state will be set up to submit PSE transaction information to MethCheck.
To assist pharmacies with training on MethCheck Rx and with general MethCheck support-related questions, Appriss and the Office of Drug Control Policy provided regional training sessions for all pharmacies in eight locations around the state.
If you attended one of those earlier trainings or have been in contact with our office, you know that the signature requirement issue had not been finalized. We are pleased to report that the issue has been addressed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It has determined that a pharmacy will be compliant with the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA) if it enters the customer and purchase data electronically into the MethCheck Rx system and maintains a paper log of signatures. This paper log need only contain the transaction number generated by the MethCheck Rx system and the customer’s signature. We would encourage you to use the signature paper provided by the MethCheck system. You can find these printable forms under the Help tab of the system. Just click on Signature Slips and then click the Signature Pad link located at the bottom of the page. The slips can be printed anytime as needed.
Pharmacies that wish to begin using the MethCheck Rx system before the June 1, 2008 deadline can begin immediately and will not be responsible any longer to maintain the paper log books, except for the signature log. In order to comply with the CMEA, you must still keep each signature on file for at least two years. We recommend that you keep each page of the signature slips on file in a binder for future reference. This way, the signature slips can be maintained in a secure environment, at the store location where the transaction occurred. It is recommended that logs be maintained in a secure environment, at the store location where the transaction occurred.
Please note that there is no financial cost to your pharmacy for participating in this project. It is funded by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General Professional Standards Branch. Unless granted an exemption in accordance with KRS 218A.1446(2)(b), your participation is required as a result of the regulations that have been passed. By taking part in the project, you are contributing to the overall success of eliminating methamphetamine lab production in communities around the Commonwealth.
If you need additional information or assistance please contact Office of Drug Control Policy at 888/417-6327.
