Federal opioid package receives bipartisan support in the U.S. House On June 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. It includes more than 55 opioid-related bills intended to help combat the nation’s opioid crisis by advancing treatment and recovery initiatives, improving prevention, protecting our communities and bolstering our efforts to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs. HR 6 also includes several Medicaid, Medicare and public health reforms to help combat the opioid crisis. The California Medical Association (CMA) aggressively advocated for more funding ... July 11, 2018 General Prescription Drugs, Drug Prescribing, Federal Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
DOJ certifies CURES: Physicians must check database prior to prescribing effective October 2, 2018 The California Department of Justice (DOJ) has certified that as of April 2, 2018, the Controlled Substance Utilization and Evaluation System (CURES) – California’s prescription drug monitoring database – is ready for statewide use. The certification starts a six-month implementation period for the duty to consult requirements enacted by the Legislature in SB 482 (Lara, 2016). Effective October 2, 2018, physicians must consult CURES prior to prescribing Schedule II, III or IV controlled substances to a patient for the first time and at least once every four months thereafter if ... April 9, 2018 General Department of Justice, DOJ, Drug Prescribing, CURES 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are your prescription pads compliant with the law? The California Medical Association (CMA) has received numerous calls from physicians whose prescriptions are being turned away by pharmacies for being non-compliant with state law. Specifically, the forms in question do not have checkboxes to indicate refills. California law requires 14 elements that must appear on California security prescription forms, including "check boxes that shall be printed on the form so that the prescriber may indicate the number of refills ordered." Security forms that lack the check boxes, even if they indicate refills in a different way, are deemed non-compliant. ... December 28, 2017 General Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Help save lives: Co-prescribe naloxone to patients at risk of opioid overdose For more than 40 years, the life-saving opioid overdose antidote naloxone has been used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Timely administration of naloxone has saved tens of thousands of lives. The American Medical Association Opioid Task Force, of which the California Medical Association (CMA) is a member, recently issued updated guidance encouraging physicians to consider co-prescribing naloxone when clinically appropriate for patients who are at risk for opioid overdose or might be in a position to help someone else at risk. The updated guidance includes several important questions that ... October 19, 2017 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids 0 0 Comment Read More »
FDA says harm of untreated opioid addiction outweighs risks of concomitant benzodiazepine use Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction is an important tool that has the potential to help millions of Americans with an opioid use disorder. In fact, patients receiving MAT cut their risk of death from all causes in half, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. However, health care providers and patients face significant challenges when determining how best to treat opioid use disorder, especially when the MAT drugs contain methadone or buprenorphine – which are also opioids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued ... October 13, 2017 General Drub Abuse, Drug Prescribing, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse, Opioids 0 0 Comment Read More »
Updates to prior authorization form for prescription medications and new timelines for response now in effect On July 1, 2017, two new laws affecting the standardized prescription drug prior authorization form took effect. SB 282 required the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and the Department of Insurance to create a standard electronic prior authorization request form. A second related law (AB 374) required the agencies to include on the updated form the option for physicians to request an exception to the plan/insurer’s step therapy process. Previously, SB 866 had required use and acceptance of a paper uniform prior authorization form. The form was updated in December ... September 25, 2017 General Drug Prescribing, Preauthorization, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
CSAM Webinar: How to Build a Controlled-Substances Review Committee in Your Primary Care Clinic The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is hosting a webinar, "How to Build a Controlled-Substances Review Committee in Your Primary Care Clinic," to help physicians navigate chronic pain and opioid management. The webinar will take place on Friday, July 28, from 12-1 p.m. Using a case-based format, the webinar will review the basic structure, operations and benefits of creating an internal peer-review committee for complex pain cases. From this event, physicians will understand how to implement, how to interact with and when to use such a committee in their ... July 26, 2017 General Continuing Medical Education, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs, Webinars 0 0 Comment Read More »
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day April 29, 2017 Saturday, April 29, 2017, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. On this day, hundreds of locations throughout California will be accepting and properly disposing of unused prescription drugs, including controlled substances. Proper disposal of unused prescription drugs helps prevent diversion and misuse associated with these medications. This one-day event will provide patients with free, anonymous collection of unwanted and expired medicines. In addition to providing a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposal, the event also aims to educate the general public about the potential for abuse of these ... April 19, 2017 General Drug Abuse, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Court hears oral arguments in Oregon prescription drug monitoring database case The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments earlier this month in a patient privacy case involving law enforcement access to Oregon’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). The California Medical Association (CMA) joined the American Medical Association and other western state medical associations in 2015 to file an amicus brief with the appeals court challenging the authority of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to obtain patients' private prescription records without a court order. In this case, the DEA sought patient-specific information from Oregon’s PDMP through the use of ... November 28, 2016 CMA, General CURES, Drug Prescribing, Privacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Pharmacy board warns of fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances The California State Board of Pharmacy recently warned pharmacies of an uptick in fraudulent California security prescription forms for controlled substances. The pharmacy board is encouraging pharmacies to take appropriate precautions to verify the legitimacy of prescriptions written by prescribers who have been identified as victims of this fraud. The pharmacy board maintains a list by county of prescribers who have reported stolen or fraudulent California security prescription forms. Pharmacies that receive prescriptions from a provider on this list have been advised to verify the prescription by contacting the provider's ... November 16, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Fraud and Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
