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Change in Prescribing Law
From the State of Florida, Board of Medicine
Effective July 1, 2003, SB 2084 provides the following: Section 1. Section 456.42, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 456.42 Written prescriptions for medicinal drugs.—A written prescription for a medicinal drug issued by a health care practitioner licensed by law to prescribe such drug must be legibly printed or typed so as to be capable of being understood by the pharmacist filling the prescription; must contain the name of the prescribing practitioner, the name and strength of the drug prescribed, the quantity of the drug prescribed in both textual and numerical formats, and the directions for use of the drug; must be dated with the month written out in textual letters; and must be signed by the prescribing practitioner on the day when issued.
Explanation: This new section of 456 requires:
Print legibly or type script the following:
Additionally all scripts must be signed on the day issued to the patient. What are the implications? Attention to detail as listed is now mandatory to prevent medical error. Additionally, this law notes "...so as to be capable of being understood by the pharmacist filling the prescription." Can it be then presumed that the pharmacist is now empowered to "report" violators of the law to the state when the instructions per the law are not followed? This law also encourages the use of ordering systems that do not rely on written prescriptions (laser printed, PDA-based, computerized ordering systems, etc.). Many of those already out will have to be reconfigured to insure listing of all required information in the new law. |
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