Ordering a Controlled Substance or Narcotic Medication   

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

A Controlled Medication Example

Lorazepam

A Narcotic Medication Example

MS Contin

·        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