For immediate release: February 25, 2010 (10-036)
Contacts:
Doreen Beebe, Board of Pharmacy 360-236-4834
Allison Cook, Communications Office
360-236-4022
Drug prescribers in Washington must soon convert to tamper-resistant paper
New law goes into effect July 1, 2010OLYMPIA ¾
Special prescription pads intended to increase patient safety and stop people
from stealing or altering existing prescriptions will soon be required in our
state. With the deadline approaching, state health officials advise prescribers
to order tamper-resistant supplies now.
All health care providers who write prescriptions in Washington will have to use
tamper-resistant prescription pad paper under a new law that goes into effect
July 1. The law, passed in 2009, says all prescription paper or pads must have
the state Board of Pharmacy approval seal. More
information on the new requirement
(www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/trpp) is online.
“Patient safety is our top priority,” said Secretary of Health Mary Selecky.
“It’s important that prescription medications go to the right patient, and that
patients get the correct medication. These new requirements will make
prescriptions more secure and harder to alter.”
Vendors
(www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/Professions/Pharmacy/documents/ApprovedVendors.pdf) that
can provide tamper-resistant prescription supplies are on the Department of
Health Web site. Vendors must show that their prescription paper or pads
meet security standards in the law. These standards help prevent copying,
altering, and other forms of counterfeiting. The board will only approve paper
or pads that include these security features and contain the special seal.
“We want patients to continue getting the prescription medications they
need,” said Karen Jensen, assistant secretary at the agency. “It’s important to
consider this law in advance so prescribers don’t waste money on pads that don’t
meet requirements and so they’re able to write valid paper prescriptions when
the law goes into effect.”
More than 53,000 health professionals in 13 different professions are licensed
to write prescriptions in the state. This includes advanced registered nurse
practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, physicians, physician
assistants, certified physician assistants, osteopathic physicians and
assistants, dentists, veterinarians, naturopathic physicians, optometrists,
podiatric physicians, and pharmacists.
The security features in the new prescription pads and paper are identical to
those required under the federal Medicaid program. The only change is
prescription paper in Washington must include the state Board of Pharmacy seal.
Prescribers won’t be able to use existing inventories of prescription paper
after July 1. Any prescriber that doesn’t have approved paper on hand will have
to send prescriptions electronically or by fax to a pharmacy.
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