Montana News: Fraudulent Prescriptions

April 1, 2008 4:38 pm

Reprinted form the April 2008 Montana Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.
 

Every so often the Board office receives calls from pharmacists questioning whether or not the prescription they just filled was fraudulent (and often it is). It seems that the prudent move would be to ask that question prior to filling the prescription. As a reminder, to verify a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number, calculate as follows:
1. Add the first, third, and fifth numbers to get your first number.
2. Add the second, fourth, and sixth numbers and multiply by two to get your second number.
3. Total the two numbers and the last digit of this number will be the same as the last digit of the DEA number.