BlackCat
Old Hand
Reged: 09/22/03
Posts: 400
Loc: Bed
|
|
Hello all,
I'm very curious to know what the law says regarding the minimum time between refills or new scripts of controlled substances. (e.g. refills for sch. III and time between new scripts for sch. II which don't allow refills).
Also, is this topic governed by federal, state or both type laws? (I live in NY State BTW)
I've experienced seemingly arbitrary refill "policies" at different stores and even within the same store by different pharmacists. For example, at one national chain store, 2 different pharmacists use 2 different policies regarding refilling controlled substances (like hydro) early. One says I can refill on day 25 of a 30 day script while another often makes me wait until day 30 of a 30 day script because she tells me the laws governing controlled substances requires her to wait the full duration. Obviously this "zero tolerance" policy is very inconvenient for me if I am going to be out of town or if they don't have what I need in stock on day 30 and I have to wait beyond 30 days.
I also know several people who have experienced similar problems where they have been told different things by different pharmacies when they try to refill controlled substances a few days early.
I would love to be educated in this matter and be able to have a calm, intelligent discussion with a pharmacist if I ever need to refill a few days early and they refuse due to "the law".
The only thing I can think of is perhaps there are laws in this area, but they contain language stating they are only intended to be guidelines, thus giving pharmacists flexibility in their interpretation of these laws.
...thanks in advance for any insight, links or personal experiences you may have....
|
IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 868
Loc: usa
|
|
On sched II's there's no leeway...you can't fill before the date of the script...and must be filled within 7 days of being written...on sched III's there is some pharmacist discretion....usually it's a percentage formula.....like when you've reached 80% of the prescribe dose...you can refill...but can depend on your insurance & YOUR OWN PERSONAL HISTORY. If you have a HISTORY of asking for your schedule III's early every month..the pharmacist can refuse to fill before 30 days...
I've found it's best to establish a long term relationship with a specific pharmacist at a pharmacy & deal only with them....find out when they work & use them, be kind, be appreciative of their assistance & they'll be as lenient as they can....
|
kimbell1
Enthusiast
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 274
Loc: Route 666, Painville, Texas 6...
|
|
I use Walgreens. The pharmacy for about a year was good about refilling as soon as the insurance would pay (75% of the product used ie. 30 pills, refilled after 21 pills used).
Now this particular Walgreens recently became tight a___ about refilling exactly when I should be out. I went to another Walgreens and they filled a few days early without problems. Then after a few months, the new Walgreens became tight a----. I tried my old Walgreens and there was no problem filling as soon as the insurance would pay. answer-it just depends. I don't think a large chain is better or worse than a mom and pop store.
--------------------
Paranoia is just hightened awareness.
|
Firefairy
Member
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 147
Loc: Mississippi
|
|
It can vary by state and/or local law. Insurance providers and individual pharmacies have additional policies. Then some pharmacists seem to have additional rules, and in my experience, will say it is the law or insurance company policy. In my town, legally, a 7 day supply of hydro can be filled on the 5th day, a 30 day supply on the 25th day.
I only know this because I was researching something else in a nearby law library and started looking up other issues that bugged me.
The three Mom&Pop places in town stick to this. If your insurance requires an extra day or two, they will give it to you and file when the insurance will pay. On the other hand the Super Wal-mart will not fill a 7 day supply till the 8th day, a 30 day supply till the 31st day.
|
night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
|
|
Here are the Federal Laws regarding this issue-- as you will see, there IS no Federal Law governing WHEN refills can be filled...so this must be a state-governed issue or individual pharmacy rule. But again, I have never, ever, had ANY problems getting early (up to 2 weeks early) refills on any of my prescriptions. web page
--------------------
Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
|
Trampy
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/02/02
Posts: 1222
Loc: Southwest U.S.
|
|
Quote:
On sched II's there's no leeway...you can't fill before the date of the script...and must be filled within 7 days of being written...on sched III's there is some pharmacist discretion....usually it's a percentage formula.....like when you've reached 80% of the prescribe dose...you can refill...but can depend on your insurance & YOUR OWN PERSONAL HISTORY. If you have a HISTORY of asking for your schedule III's early every month..the pharmacist can refuse to fill before 30 days...
I've found it's best to establish a long term relationship with a specific pharmacist at a pharmacy & deal only with them....find out when they work & use them, be kind, be appreciative of their assistance & they'll be as lenient as they can....
Firefairy and night_shade have it correct. There is no federal law regulating when refills can be dispensed. Some states regulate it, some don't. No matter where you are, though, it's at the discretion of the pharmacist to issue early refills. If you're unhappy with their behavior you can make one transfer of the remaining refills to another pharmacy.
Just because something seems true where they live it's not necessarily true everywhere.
In my state if you have a scrip for a 30-day supply for a C-III or lower and the doctor writes the maximum five refills ... it's perfectly legal to get all five refills at the same time as the original fill. No excuse is required. If it's OK with the pharmacist, you can walk out with the 180-day supply and it's 100% legal. Here, that is.
Trampy
--------------------
Your mileage may vary ...
|
cloudy
Member
Reged: 11/07/03
Posts: 164
|
|
I had a weird refill issue with an op. They had really messed up my hubbys order on his first consult.(the OP's remedy was on re-consult they were to prescribe 120 per month for 3 months) The pharmacy sent 120 but the bottle still said take 3 x a day. Which then made the days supply 40 and remaining refills stated 1.67(not a typo)
We figured it out, the pharmacy, for some reason originally filled it as if the DR wanted him to have 120 right away, (90 pills PLUS the 30 at 3 x a day). BUT the 30 was taken from the remaining refills. (thats where the 1.67 comes in) So the next refill they send 90. Which now the bottle reads .67 refills remaining. So, if the OP does not fix this problem, when he refills, he will only get 60 pills. Which is all that is left on the refill.
To have this make sense...in this equation 1= 90 pills(3 day supply).
The reason I posted this confusing mess is..... IF pharmacies can only fill for a months supply, than this RX was filled illegally. Which we all know it wasnt. So it seems like it does come down to each individual pharmacy. A previous poster stated that they could get an original script filled and all of the refills at the same time. My situation is sort of like that. They gave my hubby 33% of his next refill along with the original fill. I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE!!!!!! LOL I never thought you needed algebra skills to figure out how many pills you will be receiving.
Just thought I would share the experience of the 40 day supply from an OP.
Toodles 
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
