March 26, 2008

Clarification - 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. 

CLARIFICATION –Computer-generated prescriptions are subject to these requirements.  However, a computer-generated and printed prescription generally is printed in a manner that is non-erasable.  Thus, computer-generated prescriptions that are non-erasable would contain a feature that “prevents the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber” and would fit within the intention of the tamper-proof law from April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008.  Beginning October 1, 2008, all written prescriptions, including computer-generated and printed prescriptions, must contain all three of the features listed above to be in compliance with the law.

APA Still Seeking Comparison Data for QualChoice Patients

QualChoice, a major healthcare carrier in Arkansas, changed pharmacy benefits managers (PBM) at the first of the year.  QualChoice switched from Express Scripts to a newer PBM called ProcareRx.  APA has received several phone calls from members expressing concern over the generic reimbursement that they have been receiving from ProcareRx.

APA is seeking pharmacies that are willing to provide before and after comparisons of their generic reimbursements for these QualChoice plans from the end of last year compared to the first two months of 2008.  Please call Scott at the APA office (501-372-5250) to request a standardized reporting sheet to provide this data to APA.  If you have already requested a reporting sheet, please submit your data to APA as soon as possible.

Inaugural National President’s Challenge Announced

Arkansas Surgeon General, Dr. Joe Thompson, has announced a national competition between the 50 states to encourage physical activity for the improvement of health and the reduction of chronic disease.  The “National President’s Challenge” is a six week physical activity challenge that challenges both adults and children to be physically active five days a week for six weeks.  Communities, businesses, schools and individuals are being asked to sign up to participate in this challenge to improve the health of Arkansans.

To sign up, visit www.presidentschallenge.org and click on “Register Today”, the deadline to sign up is April 3rd.