Pharmacies dispensing controlled substances in Florida already have enough to worry about – Department of Health inspections, licensure and accreditation issues, and if you are a specialty pharmacy, constant revisions to existing protocols and procedures to ensure that you are compliant with updated laws and regulations which are constantly fluctuating. In addition, these same pharmacies are already subject to rigorous reporting requirements.
E-FORCSE® (Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substance Evaluation Program), was created by the 2009 Florida Legislature in an initiative to encourage safer prescribing of controlled substances and to reduce drug abuse and diversion within the state of Florida and is the primary Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Prior to January 1, 2018, Section 893.055, Florida Statutes, required health care practitioners and pharmacies to report to the PDMP each time a controlled substance was dispensed to an individual as soon as possible but not more than 7 days after dispensing.
Effective 1 week ago (January 1, 2018) though, Florida House Bill 557 became effective and now requires pharmacies to report to the E-FORCSE database no later than the close of the next business day after a controlled substance has been dispensed. Beyond this a pharmacy that has no dispensing transactions must submit a zero activity report as described in the Dispenser’s Implementation Guide.
This new requirement is another reaction to the vicious opioid epidemic that has infected communities throughout the U.S. Most pharmacies in Florida that regularly dispense controlled substances and which are committed to compliance already have implemented robust internal systems for reporting controlled substances dispensing, for detecting and identifying aberrant prescribing patterns, and for flagging patients whom are likely to be abusers.
If you have questions or concerns about implementing the new requirement in your practice, please do not hesitate to contact the Firm.
E-FORCSE® (Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substance Evaluation Program), was created by the 2009 Florida Legislature in an initiative to encourage safer prescribing of controlled substances and to reduce drug abuse and diversion within the state of Florida and is the primary Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Prior to January 1, 2018, Section 893.055, Florida Statutes, required health care practitioners and pharmacies to report to the PDMP each time a controlled substance was dispensed to an individual as soon as possible but not more than 7 days after dispensing.
Effective 1 week ago (January 1, 2018) though, Florida House Bill 557 became effective and now requires pharmacies to report to the E-FORCSE database no later than the close of the next business day after a controlled substance has been dispensed. Beyond this a pharmacy that has no dispensing transactions must submit a zero activity report as described in the Dispenser’s Implementation Guide.
This new requirement is another reaction to the vicious opioid epidemic that has infected communities throughout the U.S. Most pharmacies in Florida that regularly dispense controlled substances and which are committed to compliance already have implemented robust internal systems for reporting controlled substances dispensing, for detecting and identifying aberrant prescribing patterns, and for flagging patients whom are likely to be abusers.
If you have questions or concerns about implementing the new requirement in your practice, please do not hesitate to contact the Firm.
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