Prescritions from Suspended/Revoked Prescribers - Current Topics

Prescritions from Suspended/Revoked Prescribers

Prescritions from Suspended/Revoked Prescribers

Q:  A prescriber in my area recently had his/her license to practice suspended/revoked.  Can I fill a prescription written by him/her?  What about refills?

A.  The answer in West Virginia is fairly simple.  The law generally requires for a prescription to be valid, it must be written by a properly licensed prescriber, written in the normal or ordinary course of practice, for an actual patient of that prescriber, and be for a legitimate medical reason if necessary.  Thus, so long as the prescriber's license was valid when the prescription was written for his/her patient (with whom there was an actual provider-patient relationship), the prescription was written in the usual course of practice, and it is for a legitimate medical reason, then the prescription may be filled.  The same analysis applies for refills.  For a quick example, Dr. Jones writes a prescription for his patient, Mr. Smith, on April 6, 2010, with three refills.  The next day, on April 7, Dr. Jones surrenders his license and DEA registration.  If Mr. Smith's presents the prescription and the pharmacist believes it was written in the usual course and for a legitimate medical purpose, the prescription and the refills may be honored.  It is recommended that, since the doctor-patient relationship is severed, that the pharmacy direct the patient to get a new prescriber as soon as possible, and that the pharmacy consider limiting the number of refills it will give under the old prescriber.

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