A Controlled Drug or Substance is a drug or therapeutic agent
commonly understood to include
narcotics, with a potential for abuse or addiction, held under strict governmental
control.
Current legislation for controlled and narcotics drugs (The Canadian
Controlled Drug and Substances Act)
impacts how they are prescribed:
· By law, the
physician’s CPSO number and a patient
identifier (health card number, passport ID,
or driver’s license) must be listed on controlled or narcotic drug
prescriptions
· A prescription
for a controlled substance or narcotic generated in PSS will automatically
display the
CPSO number and Health Card Number. Exception:
For patients from outside of Ontario, a second piece
of identification (health card number, passport ID, driver’s license) must
be manually entered into PSS
· Type the patient’s second piece of identification in the Label Instructions field
· It is important to always ensure that the patient’s health card/health insurance is documented in PSS
· If you receive
a message saying that the patient does not have a health card number recorded
in PSS, please contact admin staff to ensure that your patient’s
Health Card Number is entered into PSS
· By law refills on narcotics are not permitted
· If Narcotics
are required over an extended period of time, they may be prescribed as
part-fills and dispensed in divided portions
· Although Part
Fills are similar to Refills, there are some key differences
in how a
prescription must be written.
The narcotic prescription needs to:
· Indicate the total quantity to be dispensed over the entire time
· Indicate the part-fill quantity (i.e. the amount to be dispensed each interval)
· Indicate the time interval
For the example above:
· Total Quantity would be 180 capsules over 90 days
· Part-Fill Quantity would be 60 capsules
· Time Interval would be 30 days (do not state a monthly time period since months can vary from 28-31 days)
All other fields are left to your professional and clinical judgement