March 20, 2008

Update - Medicaid Tamper Proof Prescription Law

to Be Implemented April 1, 2008

The federal law that requires all Medicaid prescriptions to be written on “tamper-proof” prescription pads is scheduled to go into effect Tuesday, April 1, 2008.  You may recall the law was originally scheduled for implementation on October 1, 2007, but the implementation was delayed for six months.  Arkansas Medicaid is required to comply with this federal mandate.  To assist pharmacists and other providers, Medicaid will be sending out a letter that outlines the requirements for these prescription pads. 

For Medicaid prescriptions to be in compliance with this new law, they must be written on a “tamper-proof” prescription pad that contains one or more features designed to:

·         Prevent unauthorized copying of a completed or blank prescription form;

·         Prevent the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber;

·         Prevent the use of counterfeit prescription forms (i.e. sequentially numbered blanks).

Please note, this new law only affects “non-electronic” prescriptions.  Therefore, electronic prescriptions, faxed prescriptions, and telephoned prescriptions are not subject to this new requirement.  In addition, computer generated prescriptions that are printed on regular paper will not be subject to the tamper-proof requirements until October 1, 2008.  This includes the computer-generated prescriptions from many physician’s clinics, including many of the clinics at UAMS.

NPI Claim Submission Deadline – May 19th

On May 19th, Arkansas Medicaid will be required by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to require a valid NPI number for adjudication of pharmacy claims.  More specifically, pharmacies will be required to submit claims using their pharmacy’s NPI number and will be required to submit claims with a valid prescriber NPI number.

Recent data from Arkansas Medicaid suggests that as many as 77 percent of recent pharmacy claims were processed without a valid prescriber NPI number.  In addition, almost 20 percent of pharmacy claims were processed without a valid pharmacy NPI number.  Please note that these NPI numbers will be mandatory for Arkansas Medicaid claims to adjudicate after May 19th.

To locate NPI numbers for prescribers in your area, contact your pharmacy system vendor or visit the official NPI registry at http://nppes.cms.hhs.gov.

2008 APA Membership Dues Must Be Received by March 31st

Final notices for 2008 APA Membership renewal have been mailed.  Members whose dues renewal have not been received by  March 31st will have their membership status changed to inactive.  Please take this time to renew your 2008 APA membership and to encourage all the pharmacists you work with to renew.  Your membership helps to ensure the continued strength of the profession of pharmacy in Arkansas.