Deadline for Medicaid Tamper-Proof Prescription Pads is April 1March 7, 2008 - Under a federal law passed last year, physicians will be required to use tamper-resistant prescription pads for most handwritten Medicaid prescriptions (exceptions exist for Medicaid managed care and institutionalized patients). Advocacy by the AMA, state medical societies and others last fall achieved a six-month delay in the implementation date, which is now April 1, 2008. Orders for these pads can take up to four weeks to process, so physicians who have not yet ordered them should do so now. While this is a federal law and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued some guidance to state Medicaid agencies, each state agency must implement its own requirements regarding the tamper-resistant features of the pads. The AMA has been working with a coalition to bring clarity to the situation. Physicians needing tamper-resistant pads can contact these area printers (for additional resources, view the list at the bottom of the page):
Visit www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/15559.html for more details, including a letter from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs and a spreadsheet showing particulars for each state. Tamper Resistant Prescription Pad Vendors: Printco American Coorporate Services National Rx Security Micro Format Doctors Prescription Pads Rx Security FileRx (Rx Pads, Inc.) Minute Man Printers American Security Rx ScriptShield PressTime Printers Standard Register Unisource Printing Services & Promotions Medi-Scripts Medicaid approved tamper proof prescription pad provider - free of charge - to all specialties except surgeons, unless the surgical group prints all of the surgeons on the pad. They don't provide pads for APNs or PAs individually. These pads are generally interlaced with advertisements, and are, therefore, subsidized by pharmaceutical manufacturers. ### |