What is the status of the law on narcotic prescriptions being repeated.?

Question

I read that people who are on long term pain medicine can now get multiple prescriptions from their doctors without having to go back to the office every month. Is this true?

Answer 1

The law has been passed in Virginia. Basically it states that if you're a chronic pain patient who is maintained on a Schedule II med (oxycodone preparations-- i.e. oxycontin, percolone--, morphine, methadone, demoral, etc.) your pain doctor can write you three months worth of prescriptions by writing a months worth dated that day and 2 post-dated prescriptions. So, say for example, I go to the doctor today. He could write me a prescription for 60 oxycontin dated today, a prescription for 60 oxycontin dated November 6, and a prescription for 60 oxycontin dated December 6. I would take all 3 of the prescriptions with me today and then get the other 2 filled on the dates they were dated for and I wouldn't have to go back to the doctor for 3 months. Prior to this, doctors were not allowed to give refills on SChedul II narcotics-- they could only give a maximum of one months supply at a time and they had to write a new script every month-- they couldn't just circle or write in X number of refills at the bottom of the script, you had to have a new prescription each time.

Answer 2

It varies greatly from state to state, depending on the type of prescription and the patients' insurance coverage. Some states, such as California, require triplicates on some medications where you can only prescribe 30 day's worth of medication at one time and you cannot allow for refills with this type of prescription.

Any conscientious physician will know if their patient is at risk for abusing the medications as most pain medications are addictive. Typically, you can only receive a 30 day max supply of medication but you can have refills. If you're too early in requesting the refill, the pharmacist should clear the refill through the prescribing doctor's office. Maximum that any patient should go without seeing their physician is three months... and this is strictly for a patient who is on a maintenance program. Regular blood work should also be done with narcotics and NSAIDS (anti-inflammatories) to ensure no damage to the liver has occurred.

Answer 3

Depending on what medication it is.... some meds like vicodin, norco, and lortab can be refilled over the phone...
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but stuff like oxycontin, methadone and percocet you need an office visit or atleast to pick up the rx in the dr's office,