Section 22-B1303. TELEPHONE FACSIMILE PRESCRIPTION ORDERS

 

1303.1A practitioner shall not transmit a prescription via telephone facsimile if in doing so it would interfere with a patient's freedom to choose a pharmacy, or without a patient's consent.

 

1303.2A pharmacist shall not dispense a telephone facsimile prescription drug order for a controlled substance listed in Schedule II, except as permitted under § 1306 of this chapter.

 

1303.3A telephone facsimile prescription shall be transmitted only by a practitioner or a practitioner's designated agent directly from the practitioner's office or a health care facility to the pharmacy with no intervening person having access to the prescription drug order.

 

1303.4To maintain the confidentiality of patient records:

 

(a)The pharmacy and the practitioner shall both have adequate security and system safeguards designed to prevent and detect unauthorized access, modification, or manipulation of patient records and telephone facsimile transmissions; and

 

(b)The pharmacy shall implement and maintain procedures, system controls and other efforts to ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), federal and District laws regarding the confidentiality and protection of patient information.

 

1303.5The pharmacy shall implement and maintain procedures to verify the authenticity of the telephone facsimile transmission and its source of origin which may include:

 

(a)Maintenance of a practitioner's telephone facsimile number reference;

 

(b)Verification of the telephone number of the originating telephone facsimile equipment; and

 

(c)Telephone verification with the practitioner's office that the prescription as transmitted via telephone facsimile contains the same exact information it contained when originated by the practitioner and contains no alterations by any intervening parties.

 

1303.6In addition to conforming to all applicable federal and District requirements, a telephone facsimile prescription drug order shall contain the following at the time it is transmitted:

 

(a)A prescription bearing the following information:

 

(1)The printed or typed full name, address, telephone number and facsimile number of the practitioner;

 

(2)The signature of the practitioner;

 

(3)The date of issuance;

 

(4)The full name and address of the patient;

 

(5)The name and dosage of the drug, directions for use, quantity dispensed, and number of refills, when applicable; and

 

(6)A statement which indicates that the prescription was transmitted via telephone facsimile;

 

(b)Along with the prescription, the following information shall be transmitted:

 

(1)The name, address, and facsimile number of the pharmacy to which the prescription was transmitted;

 

(2)The date the prescription was transmitted via facsimile to the pharmacy, if the date is different from the date of issuance of the prescription;

 

(3)If transmitted by a designated agent, the full name of the designated agent; and

 

(4)A clearly legible statement that:

 

(A)The telephone facsimile transmission is intended only for the recipient to which it was addressed and contains information that is confidential;

 

(B)The recipient is prohibited from distribution or dissemination of the information contained in the transmission unless permitted by federal or District law; and

 

(C)If the recipient is not the intended recipient or the authorized agent of the intended recipient, the recipient should immediately notify the sender by telephone and return the original message to the sender.

 

1303.7In addition to the requirements of § 1303.6, a prescription for a controlled substance, when authorized by law for dispensing, shall also include the following:

 

(a)The practitioner's federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number;

 

(b)The practitioner's District of Columbia Controlled Substances registration number, if applicable;

 

(c)Be signed by the practitioner in the same manner as the practitioner would sign a check or legal document (for example: "J.H. Smith" or "John H. Smith"); and

 

(d)Any other requirements under District or federal law.

 

1303.8Any person who is exempted from registration under federal or District of Columbia statute shall include on all prescriptions for controlled substances issued by him or her the registration number of the hospital or other institution and the special internal code number assigned to him or her by the hospital or other institution as provided in the Act or this chapter, in lieu of the registration number of the practitioner required by this chapter.

 

1303.9An official exempted from registration under federal or District of Columbia statue shall include on all prescriptions issued by that individual, his or her branch of service or agency (e.g., "U.S. Army" or "Public Health Service") and the individual's service identification number, in lieu of the registration number of the practitioner required by this chapter.

 

1303.10The service identification number for a Public Health Service employee is his or her social security identification number or, if applicable, his or her National Provider Identifier (NPI) number. Each prescription shall have the name of the officer stamped or printed on it, as well as the signature of the officer.

 

1303.11The dispensing pharmacist shall document the following information on each facsimile prescription order that has been dispensed:

 

(a)The name or initials of the pharmacist who performed the final verification; and

 

(b)Any change or alteration made to the prescription dispensed based on contact with the practitioner to show a clear audit trail. This shall include, but not be limited to, a change in quantity, directions, or number of refills.

 

1303.12Authorization obtained from the practitioner to substitute a drug, shall be documented on the prescription order, except in the case of an institutional pharmacy which maintains readily retrievable, written, documented policies authorizing such substitution.

 

authority

Section 19(a)(3) of the District of Columbia Pharmacist and Pharmacy Regulation Act of 1980, effective September 16, 1980 (D.C. Law 3-98; D.C. Official Code § 47-2885.18.01(a)(3)); the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981, effective August 5, 1981 (D. C. Law 4-29; D.C. Official Code § 48-901.01); Mayor’s Order 98-48, dated April 15, 1998; Section 4902 of the Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Support Act of 2001, effective October 3, 2001 (D.C. Law 14-28; D.C. Official Code § 7-731); Section 15 of the District of Columbia Drug Manufacture and Distribution Licensure Act of 1990, effective June 13, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-137; D.C. Official Code § 48-714(a)); and Mayor’s Order 98-88, dated May 29, 1998.

source

Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1046, 1066 (February 21, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 53 DCR 10055 (December 22, 2006).