Drug agency relaxes guidelines on morphine-based painkillers
Doctors may write 3 prescriptions per office visit.
By Marc Kaufman
The Washington Post
Posted September 7 2006
WASHINGTON · The Drug Enforcement Administration Wednesday overturned a 2-year-old policy that many pain specialists said was limiting their ability to properly treat chronically ill patients in need of powerful, morphine-based painkillers. While defending its efforts to aggressively investigate doctors who officials conclude are writing painkiller prescriptions for no "legitimate medical purpose," the agency agreed with the protesting experts that it had gone too far in limiting how doctors prescribe the widely used medications.
Specifically, the DEA proposed a formal rule that would allow doctors with patients who need a constant supply of morphine-based painkillers to write multiple prescriptions in a single office visit. Under the new rule, a doctor can write three, 30-day prescriptions at a time -- two of them future-dated to be filled a month apart.
Two years ago, the agency clamped down on the common practice of writing such multi-month prescriptions, which it said were probably illegal and were contributing to the growing abuse of prescription painkillers.
As a result of the DEA's position, many doctors began requiring patients to come in each month for a new prescription -- office visits many doctors considered medically unnecessary but essential to keep them out of trouble with the DEA.
Wednesday, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said the agency had been wrong in limiting the multiple prescriptions and had made the tough decision to reverse course.
In addition to publishing its new policy statement and rule-making Wednesday, the DEA began posting extensive information on its Web site about doctors who have been arrested and prosecuted for their prescribing practices. Tandy said that she hoped doctors would review the cases so they would see that only "egregious" offenders are being prosecuted.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-apain07sep07,0,127814.story?coll=sfla-news-health
Doctors may write 3 prescriptions per office visit.
By Marc Kaufman
The Washington Post
Posted September 7 2006
WASHINGTON · The Drug Enforcement Administration Wednesday overturned a 2-year-old policy that many pain specialists said was limiting their ability to properly treat chronically ill patients in need of powerful, morphine-based painkillers. While defending its efforts to aggressively investigate doctors who officials conclude are writing painkiller prescriptions for no "legitimate medical purpose," the agency agreed with the protesting experts that it had gone too far in limiting how doctors prescribe the widely used medications.
Specifically, the DEA proposed a formal rule that would allow doctors with patients who need a constant supply of morphine-based painkillers to write multiple prescriptions in a single office visit. Under the new rule, a doctor can write three, 30-day prescriptions at a time -- two of them future-dated to be filled a month apart.
Two years ago, the agency clamped down on the common practice of writing such multi-month prescriptions, which it said were probably illegal and were contributing to the growing abuse of prescription painkillers.
As a result of the DEA's position, many doctors began requiring patients to come in each month for a new prescription -- office visits many doctors considered medically unnecessary but essential to keep them out of trouble with the DEA.
Wednesday, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said the agency had been wrong in limiting the multiple prescriptions and had made the tough decision to reverse course.
In addition to publishing its new policy statement and rule-making Wednesday, the DEA began posting extensive information on its Web site about doctors who have been arrested and prosecuted for their prescribing practices. Tandy said that she hoped doctors would review the cases so they would see that only "egregious" offenders are being prosecuted.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-apain07sep07,0,127814.story?coll=sfla-news-health
