This was posted on another pharmacy/pharmacist site recently…
“I know with WAG any script that is turned away a copy has to be faxed to the local DEA”
It is my understanding that WAGS implemented a new policy sometime during the first quarter of 2013 referred to as their “good faith dispensing” policy
As I understand this policy.. the RPH’s are required to have a ICD9 code on the Rx for controls – at least C-II’s – and if the doctor does not put the ICD9 on the Rx they are to call the doctor for it. I have also seem stated that the RPH’s are suppose to ask the doc .. what other therapy has been tried on the patient.. how long they expect therapy to be… and on .. and on…
It is my understanding that not all docs are going along with this policy and declining to provide the ICD9 or other information…
If the above statement is correct… is the RPH required to fax a copy of the Rx to the local DEA.. if the doc declines to play along with WAG’s policy…
Could this faxing policy… be sort of a extortion .. you either do it our way.. or we will try to put a “black mark” on your practice with the DEA… and get the DEA to put your practice under the microscope … we could care less… if you have no bogus pain pts in your practice or not.. we don’t care if the DEA raids your practice and a lot of your pain pts or other pts using controlled meds end up doing without… because the DEA shuts your practice down.. based on nothing more than the volume of “turned down” control meds that we have faxed to the DEA because you wouldn’t conform to our policies..
It has been reported that a doc who has a large pain practice.. the two entities that is most likely to turn the doc over to the DEA … is the pt’s family and the local Pharmacist… because neither may not be kept “in the loop” and they come to conclusion(s) that have nothing to do with reality..
How this all shakes out.. could be interesting… take the county that I live in.. it is one of the smallest counties in the state – by land mass.. and has some 80 K – 90 K population.. WAGS has more stores than anyone else in the county… there is one county hospital and this county hospital is buying up practice after practice… if they don’t already have the majority of the docs in the county working as employees… they soon will have…
If this policy of WAGS – of faxing Rxs to the local DEA office that they turn away – applies to all controlled Rxs turned down… even those just because the doc declines to provide a ICD9… could cause a lot of hospital owned practices a lot of problems… could faxing over Rxs .. just because of lacking ICD9… could that be considered libelous/slanderous of the docs and their practice?
Could we see these hospitals .. encouraging .. or mandating… their employee docs to discourage pts from taking their Rxs to WAGS over something like this ?
The number of potential paths – of conflict – or cooperation – this could take are numerous… irregardless … watching this unfold .. from the sidelines .. could be interesting and entertaining
Filed under: General Problems
If this isn’t the most ridiculous thing I ever heard and IMO the biggest waste of RPh’s time. Really? The DEA is going to give 2 hoots that WAGS turned down a pain script because it doesn’t have an ICD9 on it? They’re going to raid the docs office because he refuses to follow a policy that is not federal or state law? I see a lot of patients being told to no longer do business with WAGS. Hmmmm I know there’s a thing in HIPPA about sharing info between healthcare professionals, but if I were a legitimate chronic pain patient maybe I would feel a lot of that info WAGS wants is NONE of their business…ie what other treatments I’ve had before, etc, maybe i’d want to file a HIPPA violation complaint with this new policy.