How long are schedule 2 prescriptions good for

Such original prescription shall be attached to any prescription transmitted by facsimile. The follow-up prescriptions shall be attached to, or otherwise associated with, the corresponding memoranda of oral orders or to prescriptions transmitted by facsimile. The information required in section The pharmacy must submit this information electronically to the department utilizing a transmission format acceptable to the department.

The remaining portion of the prescription may be filled with 72 hours of the first partial filling. However, if the remaining portion is not or cannot be filled within the hour period, the pharmacist shall so notify the prescribing practitioner. No further quantity may be supplied beyond 72 hours without a new prescription; or. All partial fillings filled under subdivision 1 of this section must occur within 30 days from the date the prescription was issued, except that partial fillings of prescriptions issued for more than a 30 day supply for patients residing in a residential healthcare facility or for patients enrolled in a hospice program that is licensed or approved by the Department must occur within 60 days from the date the prescription was issued.

The pharmacist shall write the date he or she received the oral authorization on the prescription and shall affix his or her signature. The pharmacist is not required to obtain authorization from the practitioner to enter the patient's address, sex or age if the pharmacist obtains this information through a good-faith effort. This procedure shall not apply to the practitioner's signature, date the prescription was signed by the practitioner, drug name or name of the ultimate user.

Controlled Drug CD prescription writing requirements: To be valid, in addition to the normal prescription requirements for Prescription Only Medicines as required by the Human Medicines Regulations , prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 CDs must also contain the following as outlined in The Misuse of Drugs Regulations :. Medicines Ethics and Practice, published annually by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society , provides further and more detailed guidance on these requirements.

Prescriptions for Schedule 2, 3 and 4 CDs are only valid for 28 days from the appropriate date i. Note: a prescriber may forward-date a CD prescription in which case the date of validity is 28 days from the forward-date, or the start date, where specified. Prescriptions for Schedule 5 CDs are valid for dispensing for 6 months from the appropriate date.

For further information on prescription validity, click here. Owings : In the case of owings, any remaining balance of Schedule 2, 3 or 4 CDs must be dispensed within 28 days of the appropriate date on the prescription. It is good practice for the pharmacist to make the patient or their representative aware from the outset that they will not be able to receive a supply of any prescribed Schedule 2, 3 or 4 CDs beyond the 28 day period of prescription validity.

For prescriptions for Schedule 5 CDs, the balance of an owing cannot be collected more than 6 months after the appropriate date. Repeat dispensing : Schedule 2 and 3 CDs cannot be prescribed on repeat dispensing prescriptions. Only Schedule 4 and 5 CDss are permitted on repeatable prescriptions. Repeat dispensing prescriptions for Schedule 4 CDs must be dispensed for the first time within 28 days of the appropriate date.

After the first dispensing episode is complete, the repeats are legally valid within the normal periods of validity of the repeatable prescription.

Repeat prescriptions for Schedule 5 CDs must be dispensed for the first time within six months of the appropriate date. The prescription must be marked with the date of each supply. The instalment direction is a legal requirement and needs to be complied with. However, for certain situations e. For further information on endorsing instalment prescription forms correctly, click here.

The dispense notification message may be suitable for this but depending on local system configuration, another patient medication record PMR process that records a date and leaves an electronic audit trail may be suitable. The following requirements shall also apply:. The retail pharmacy transmitting the prescription information must:.

For electronic prescriptions the name, address, and DEA registration number of the central fill pharmacy to which the prescription has been transmitted, the name of the retail pharmacy pharmacist transmitting the prescription, and the date of transmittal must be added to the electronic prescription record.

No prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule III or IV authorized to be refilled may be refilled more than five times. If entered on another document, such as a medication record, or electronic prescription record, the document or record must be uniformly maintained and readily retrievable. This shall include, but is not limited to, data such as the original prescription number; date of issuance of the original prescription order by the practitioner; full name and address of the patient; name, address, and DEA registration number of the practitioner; and the name, strength, dosage form, quantity of the controlled substance prescribed and quantity dispensed if different from the quantity prescribed , and the total number of refills authorized by the prescribing practitioner.

This refill history shall include, but is not limited to, the name of the controlled substance, the date of refill, the quantity dispensed, the identification code, or name or initials of the dispensing pharmacist for each refill and the total number of refills dispensed to date for that prescription order.

If such an application provides a hard-copy printout of each day's controlled substance prescription order refill data, that printout shall be verified, dated, and signed by the individual pharmacist who refilled such a prescription order.

The individual pharmacist must verify that the data indicated are correct and then sign this document in the same manner as he would sign a check or legal document e. Smith, or John H. This document shall be maintained in a separate file at that pharmacy for a period of two years from the dispensing date. This printout of the day's controlled substance prescription order refill data must be provided to each pharmacy using such a computerized application within 72 hours of the date on which the refill was dispensed.

It must be verified and signed by each pharmacist who is involved with such dispensing. In lieu of such a printout, the pharmacy shall maintain a bound log book, or separate file, in which each individual pharmacist involved in such dispensing shall sign a statement in the manner previously described each day, attesting to the fact that the refill information entered into the computer that day has been reviewed by him and is correct as shown. Such a book or file must be maintained at the pharmacy employing such an application for a period of two years after the date of dispensing the appropriately authorized refill.

For example, this would include a refill-by-refill audit trail for any specified strength and dosage form of any controlled substance by either brand or generic name or both. Such a printout must include name of the prescribing practitioner, name and address of the patient, quantity dispensed on each refill, date of dispensing for each refill, name or identification code of the dispensing pharmacist, and the number of the original prescription order.

In any computerized application employed by a user pharmacy the central recordkeeping location must be capable of sending the printout to the pharmacy within 48 hours, and if a DEA Special Agent or Diversion Investigator requests a copy of such printout from the user pharmacy, it must, if requested to do so by the Agent or Investigator, verify the printout transmittal capability of its application by documentation e.

This auxiliary procedure must ensure that refills are authorized by the original prescription order, that the maximum number of refills has not been exceeded, and that all of the appropriate data are retained for online data entry as soon as the computer system is available for use again.

However, pharmacies electronically sharing a real-time, online database may transfer up to the maximum refills permitted by law and the prescriber's authorization.

A controlled substance listed in Schedules II, III, IV, or V which is not a prescription drug as determined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, may be dispensed by a pharmacist without a prescription to a purchaser at retail, provided that:.

Source: 36 FR , Apr. Note: If you need help accessing information in different file formats, see Instructions for Downloading Viewers and Players.