Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Tamper-resistant Prescription Guidelines
Starting on October 1, 2007, in order for Medicaid outpatient drugs to be reimbursable by the federal government, all written, non-electronic prescriptions must be provided on tamper-resistant pads, pursuant to section 7002(b) of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007.
This new law requires non-electronic prescriptions to be executed on tamper-resistant pads with three basic characteristics:
- one or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent unauthorized copying of a completed or blank prescription form;
- one or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber;
- One or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the use of counterfeit prescription forms.
California's current controlled substance prescription forms (implemented in January 2005) far exceed the CMS requirements and can be used for Medicare/MediCal prescriptions.
For additional information contact the U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services http://www.cms.hhs.gov.
