Pharmacists get respite from new prescription pad rules

Pharmacists and doctors will likely get a six-month respite from new rules requiring all Medicaid prescriptions to be written on tamper-proof paper.

Some area pharmacists were ready for the change -- set to take effect Oct. 1 -- while others were not. Many said the biggest headache in the new program was the lack of adequate notice from federal officials of the change and delays in producing prescription pads that met the new specifications.

On Thursday, the Senate and House overwhelmingly voted for the six-month extension.

Darrell Hanschen, owner of Medicap Pharmacy in Jackson, said doctors had told him they were expecting it would take at least three or four weeks to receive the new pads.

"They kind of dropped it on us," Hanschen said. "Apparently it has been in the works, but people kind of missed it."

Medicaid is the health care program funded jointly by states and the federal government to provide coverage to the poor. Congress passed the new requirement in May, and the Center for Medicaid and State Operations of the Department of Health and Human Services issued guidelines to the states on implementation in mid-August.

The extension passed by Congress sets a new deadline of March 1 to begin using the tamper-resistant pads. The extension was included in a bill that extends several other health-care programs and is expected to be signed by President George W. Bush. The measure passed the Senate unanimously, said Maria Speiser of Sen. Claire McCaskill's office.

Sen. Kit Bond's office issued a statement saying he supported the extension as well.

The new regulation is designed to prevent fraud by making the prescriptions difficult to copy or alter, said Brandi Hamm, owner of Broadway Prescription Shop in Cape Girardeau. "It is for the safety not only of the pharmacists but for the safety of the patients as well," she said. "Yes, it is another obstacle we have to overcome, but it should benefit everyone."

The new rules only apply to Medicaid patients. Hanschen said he wasn't sure it would have a major impact on cases of prescription fraud.

And for patients who need maintenance medications, such as those prescribed for high blood pressure or a heart condition, the new requirements make little sense, he said. Those drugs are not commonly subject to abuse or black-market sales, he noted.

"I can see them doing this on narcotics and schedule prescriptions," Hanschen said. "But for maintenance drugs it seems to be a little overkill."

The tamper-resistant prescription forms are supposed to have invisible watermarks that become apparent on copies and they are supposed to turn color when the information on them is erased. Hanschen said the new forms present an extra step, but that pharmacists retained the option of calling doctors to verify prescriptions, and doctors could still order drugs for their patients by phone.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who co-sponsored the extension bill, said the measure will make sure the change takes place without disruption. The choice many were facing, she said, was to forgo Medicaid reimbursements for the drugs or turn patients away.

"This legislation provides some relief for doctors and patients, ensuring that when the 'tamper-proof' prescription pad regulations do go into effect there is a smooth transition with no downside for patients or pharmacists," Emerson said in a prepared statement.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126