Legislation amends current partial filling of Rx’s to confirm with federal law

Senate Bill 63 amends the currently approved partial filling of prescriptions for controlled substances listed in Schedule II by deleting the following current language: “the pharmacist is unable to supply or the patient requests less than the full quantity called for in the prescription.”

It also adds the following language for the partial filling of prescriptions: “The partial filling is requested by the patient or the prescribing individual practitioner that wrote the prescription; and the total quantity dispensed in all partial filling does not exceed the total quantity prescribed.”

The remaining portion of any prescription partially filled may be filled within 30 days of the first partial filling, except in emergency situations, the remaining portions of a partially filled prescription for a controlled substance in Schedule II may be filled, but shall be filled no later than 72 hours after the prescription is issues.

The term “emergency situation” means those situations in which the prescribing practitioner determines: (1) That immediate administration of the controlled substance is necessary for proper treatment of the intended ultimate user: (2) That no appropriate alternative treatment is available, including of a drug which is not a controlled substance listed in Schedule II; and (3) That it not reasonably possible for the prescribing practitioner to provide a written prescription to be presented to the person dispensingthe substance prior to the dispensing.

The purpose of this bill is to bring West Virginia Code into conformity with federal law and the provision of 21 U.S.C. 829, as modified in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.