phr
Bluelighter
^
Probably a good thing.
Probably a good thing.
What's up guys
In order to better combat hydrocodone abuse, legislature has been passed by the Senate in order to further prosecute traffickers of hydrocodone. On May 24, 2012, it was decided that all hydrocodone containing products are to be rescheduled as Schedule II narcotics (i.e. triplicate prescription form required, and no refills allowed to be written or called in) as opposed to the old rule stating that to be C-III, each dosing unit must contain 15mg of the product or less and be in combination with another ingredient. What this means for patients, I'm not exactly sure, except that it will be even harder to get a Vicodin prescription whether it be from the ER, a dentist, or even a pain management specialist in many cases.
I forecast a diminished availability of the drug on the black market as well and, therefore, an increase in black market price. It will also mean that any patient that is on hydrocodone indefinitely will have to return to their doctor's office every month to get a new prescription of it as refills of C-II controlled substances cannot be written on the original prescription and cannot be called into the pharmacy by a doctor or nurse authorized to use the DEA number of the doctor. Either that, or the doctor will have to future-date multiple prescriptions that the patient must keep up with so that they do not have to return to the office every month.
Anyone going to the ER for trauma or whatever type of pain can expect to be given a Rx for Tylenol #3/4's or Ultram/Ultracet as opposed to hydrocodone, unless the trauma is very bad. This also means that there is no longer any widely used, "decent" (in my opinion at least) opioid analgesic available without a triplicate prescription form that isn't a pro-drug, as Darvon/Darvocet (Dextropropoxyphene) is being/has been pulled from the shelves due to toxicity issues by the FDA. So if you feel that you have a CYP3A4 or other liver enzyme deficiency, you might want to get tested for that, if possible.
If you have further interest in this topic, you can find more information at these links:
http://www.pharmacist.com/senate-passes-hydrocodone-rescheduling-amendment
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s3187es/pdf/BILLS-112s3187es.pdf
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/06/...painkillers-may-face-tougher-fda-regulations/
http://www.nabp.net/news/amendment-...ule-ii-controlled-substance-passes-us-senate/