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Schedule II Prescribing

Posted over 14 years ago by Emily Petersen

There have been many questions and scenarios posed regarding schedule II prescribing.

While it is impossible to answer them all in one document, we hope to provide you with assistance to the major questions.

 

  1. Only 5 oral medications, as delegated by the physician. This does not mean Fentenyl, or any other schedule II medication administered via a patch. The Illinois Nurse Practice Act, Section 225 ILCS 40 (www.idfpr.com ) describes and defines prescriptive authority and is the absolute guide to APN authority.

  2. The Board of Nursing has determined, upon legal advice, the drug name not the trade name is what would be considered in the five drugs. For instance if Methylphenidate is listed within the Written Collaborative Agreement (WCA), it would cover Ritalin, Concerta, Ritalin XR. Remember Adderall is not Methylphenidate, so that would be a separate drug listed in the WCA.

  3. Questions about Schedule II and II-N. Are APNs authorized to prescribe Schedule II-N? Answer: yes. From IDFPR: "I checked on this with DEA and just got word back from Rick Boyd, Chief of Registration and Program Support at DEA, that they will be updating their reference tables to reflect that APNs and PAs are authorized to prescribe both narcotic and non-narcotic controlled substances. He said it would take a couple days. Hopefully this resolves the problem. Associate General Counsel IDFPR.

  4. Pharmacists need to know: It is the responsibility of pharmacists to know specifically which schedule II oral medications each APN is authorized to prescribe before filling a prescription. Their license is on the line should they dispense a controlled substance written by someone who they do not know is authorized to do so. This issue is being debated and a solution will be found! Until such time (and you will be notified), it is our suggestion and supported by DPR, that each APN desiring to prescribe the requisite 5 oral schedule II meds, fax the list to those pharmacies your patients typically use. Yes, we recognize it is a burden, but until another way is identified this is the safest and easiest for your patients. (And, yes, we know the answer is full prescribing authority, but that is not current law!)