APhA Responds to CMS requirement of Tamper-Resistant pads for Medicaid patients

For many in the profession, I think this one slipped in the backdoor. CMS, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will require patients to have a prescription written from tamper resistant pads by October 1st. Here's a link to the article from APhA.

A couple things to think about:

As they say in the response-What about emergency prescriptions? And paying for the second dispense? Also, think about this: Pharmacies could possibly be punished for something that a physician is ultimately responsible for: the writing of the prescription. But, pharmacies and pharmacists will be held liable.

This bill was passed under an Iraq Defense bill, and little discussion occurred on it. But look at the implication that it has for the practice of pharmacy! If nothing else, I think this illustrates the power that legislative and political issues have over how we practice, and why it is so important that we stay active and involved on that front. We'll try and keep you posted on further developments.