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Ohio News: Physician Assistant Prescribing
Published in the August 2008 Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
Physician assistant (PA) prescribing is in full swing. The State Medical Board of Ohio has finalized the rules needed to implement the process, including the formulary. Information on licensing of PAs is available on the Medical Board’s Web site at www.med.ohio.gov, and you may also check the certificate to prescribe (CTP) licensure status of the PA there. Remember that PAs may not prescribe any Schedule II controlled substances, even if they do have a DEA number. They also may not prescribe controlled substances for weight control (eg, phentermine) or chemotherapeutic agents. Just as the advanced practice nurses (APN), PAs must include their CTP number on all prescriptions they issue.
Also like the APNs, PAs are the prescribers, not their collaborating physicians. If there is a problem with a PA prescription, please deal with the PA. The collaborating physician does not have to countersign the prescription and, in fact, may not know anything about it if you call. If it is a controlled substance prescription, the DEA number associated with the prescription in your computer records needs to be the DEA number of the PA, not the DEA number of the physician.
