Post-Dated Prescriptions

[Politicalchalk]

Hi All, this is my first post.

got bipolar disorder as well as tourette's syndrome. Sometimes I get the shakes, not to mention those ol' tourette tics. I saw a specialist in movement disorders who prescribed clonazepam for me. Initially he gave me 3 months worth, however in (at least) NY, only 1 month's worth can be given at a time. So, the nice doctor sent a script in the mail, post-dated one month, and I see him a month or so after that again next.

was wondering if in NY or any other state, what is the law concerning post-dating Rxs. Are the special circumstances which make it ok? Is it only a technical violation? Will probation get out the cuffs if they find it?

thanks!

[Paracelsus]

The doctor would be in much more trouble than the patient, I suppose.

[trptamene]

Hi All, this is my first post.

got bipolar disorder as well as tourette's syndrome. Sometimes I get the shakes, not to mention those ol' tourette tics. I saw a specialist in movement disorders who prescribed clonazepam for me. Initially he gave me 3 months worth, however in (at least) NY, only 1 month's worth can be given at a time. So, the nice doctor sent a script in the mail, post-dated one month, and I see him a month or so after that again next.

was wondering if in NY or any other state, what is the law concerning post-dating Rxs. Are the special circumstances which make it ok? Is it only a technical violation? Will probation get out the cuffs if they find it?

thanks!


A lot of the time it is how the doctor rights out the prescription. I had a three month script for something (some asthma medicine) @ they would give them to me a month supply @ a time and on the next script the doctor wrote it a different way and the pharmacy gave me the whole three months worth at once. But this was in OK too, so is prolly differ from NY.

I should also note that I learned scripts for scheduled drugs or @ least drugs w/ potential for abuse last 6 months as opposed to a year....I learned this the hard way and was not allowed to fill my last xanax refill.

[Politicalchalk]

After consulting the pharmacy, it was found out that post-dating is OK is certain cases and not in others. For instance, C-II drugs are forbidden from being post-dated. Same goes for benzos, although in this case it was ok because the doctor made their intentions clear. The idea is to cut down on diversion as well as doctors who get their patients addicted by giving 6 months worth of post-dated scripts.

Interestingly every state is different and there's quite a debate about it. C-II post dates aren't allowed as it's considered the same as a refill, and you can't refill C-II. Hospice et al., however, feel it's a different story: people with cancer and other horribly terminal conditions may have trouble getting out of bed, let alone to the doctor's office every 30 days! If the right paper work is filled out, however, there are exceptions. (like terminal patients who can't get out of bed)

So, at least in NY, it's illegal as a general rule of thumb. However, there are certain circumstances which permit it, so long as it's not outlandish.

thanks for the replys!

[blackwolf]

DEA issues final rule on Schedule II Rxs
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DEA has released its final rule allowing doctors to give patients multiple prescriptions for up to a 90-day supply of Schedule II narcotics
Nov 21, 2007
Drug Topics Daily News

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a final rule allowing prescribers to give patients multiple prescriptions for up to a 90-day supply of Schedule II narcotics. Current laws do not permit the dispensing of more than a 30-day supply on a single Rx for Schedule II narcotics or refills, forcing many patients with chronic conditions to visit the doctor monthly to receive a new prescription. While some doctors had given multiple prescriptions to patients in the past, prior to the rule it was unclear whether the practice was legal. DEA received nearly 300 comments after the rule was first proposed, with the majority approving of the change. Under the new rule, which is set to go into effect Dec. 19, prescribers can give patients multiple dated prescriptions for the same Schedule II drug that when combined do not add up to more than a 90-day supply. Pharmacists will not be able to fill any of the Rxs before the date on the prescription.


I read this on a movement disorder board I occasionally go to. I havent looked into it yet, but from what I can understand, this allows your doc to write 3 perscriptions at a time, and allows them to be postdated. Even for sched II narcs.

[hoodabudda]

swim has been getting post dated adderall because his doc only wants to see him every 3mos

[HelloToAll]

last year, swim's doc would write 2 30-day adderall Rx's with the same date and swim saw the doc every other month, swim asked once if it would be better to write the 2nd one for 30 days later and he said he couldn't post date, new insurance for 99% of meds only does a 30 day supply (of course) but there is an exception for c-II adhd drugs which allow a 60 day supply which is now what the Rx's are written as

as far as what swim was told and has experienced at the Rx, multiple Rx's for the same med/dosage/amounts/etc. with the same date on them have never been a problem with any pharmacy or with the insurance going through (and this is with amphet...) so there isnt really a need (at least in CA) for post-dated Rx's it would seem

[Politicalchalk]

SWIM's cat lives in new york state. While SWIM is unsure what other states are like, SWIM's cat wants to know if the new DEA rule applies to benzodiazepines? If he recalls, in NYS only 30 day scripts are allowed FOR BENZOS. Weird how they go to such lengths to make special rules for a schedule IV substance instead of just rescheduling the damn thing to suit their restrictions. Anyone know if this new DEA rule will supercede state codes?

[staples]

You can't get refills for benzos in New York?? I've been written up to 4 I think refills at a time, the only restriction there seems to be that they cannot be refilled until at least 20 days after the last (re)fill, but that may be more due to my insurance.

As for post-dating, as my doctor explained it to me (and this may be dumbed down a bit): it was illegal, but many doctors did it anyway or didn't really realize it, so this lead to the decision to make it legal (but only up to 3 months at a time for C-II?). I remember, because I was on Concerta at the time, and I had an appointment in early December and would need a refill while I was on Winter break and would be out of town. My doctor couldn't write me a prescription there in the office, instead she had to wait until it became legal again on December 19th, write me the prescription (post dated about a week I think), and mail it to me.

[Politicalchalk]

This was taken from New York's Expanded Prescription Law. It's main aim was to prevent fraud by those fancy anti-scamming fibers in the paper, watermark, etc. ALL prescriptions must be on a NYS Official Form.

There are to be no refills on benzodiazepines at all (in NY), and no more than a 30-day supply can be dispensed at a time. There are a few rare exceptions, like panic disorder, chronic disease, terminal illness, etc. They can get up to a 90 day supply. This was all verified by a rather polite pharmacist who even offered to fax me the NYS code chapter!

Anyways, to get the 90 day supply, they have to clearly write this code on the script. And even than, no refills. As of 2006 anyways...

By "Refill" did you mean you got multiple, post-dated scripts? Or, was it an out-of-state Rx? According to the pharmacist, NY hasn't refilled a benzo in 25 years. Too bad, a few bad apples ruin for the rest of us, at least those that hate driving across town each month just for "medication management" -- a 50 dollar session for a 5 min chat, and some refills.

The more I think about this issue, the more it makes me want to totally overhaul the CSA. Just throw it out. Docs are afraid to prescribe, pain is under-treated, and it goes on and on. Any utopian ideas out there? ;-)

SWIM likes China's model. They have too many people spread across a wide range of terrains to have a medical system like America does. So, they give each person basic medical training, and use commonly available herbs and other plants. Save the hospital and morphine for serious cases. I know Chinese medicine is a tad different from Western, but I think every citizen taking a nursing class in high school would greatly diminish health care costs, and reduce the amount of meds actually needed to go around.

Than there's the issue of fun...:)

[soma]

Jeez, SWIM lives in Dallas, TX and he can get 6 months refills on scripts of 2mg Xanax 3x daily :)