Hydrocodone to Change Drug Class, Providers Encouraged to Review State Prescription Standards

On October 6, a new Drug Enforcement Administration rule will move Hydrocodone from a Schedule III to Schedule II controlled substance. When that happens, commonly-prescribed drugs like Lortab and Vicodin will be placed in a more restrictive category with drugs like Oxycontin and Morphine.

Within DocuTAP software, this will mean little change. DocuTAP does not currently support ePrescribing of controlled substances. Hydrocodone cannot currently be ePrescribed within the DocuTAP system, and this will not change with this law on October 6.

However, beyond the federal government’s new classification for Hydrocodone-containing products, individual states often choose to apply their own standards and rules pertaining to prescription drug use.

For example, one of those states is Texas. In Texas, scripts for all Schedule II drugs must be written on prescription pads issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). These pads are pre-printed with the provider’s information (name, DEA number, etc.) and bound in pads that also contain carbon paper for capturing triplicate copies. This fact means printing Schedule II drug prescriptions in Texas using DocuTAP is unlikely. Instead, providers using DocuTAP in the state of Texas and prescribing hydrocodone products will need to use the Texas DPS-provided pads.

DocuTAP encourages providers to review pertinent state prescription standards to ensure proper practices are in place following this federal drug class change. To view your state’s prescription laws, view a summary of state statutes and regulations that impact ePrescribing.

DocuTAP is continuing to explore possibilities related to printing these prescription types, if available, and researching the requirements for ePrescribing of controlled substances.