Hydrocodone Notice

The DEA has announced the rescheduling of Hydrocodone Combination Products to Schedule II. As of October 6, 2014, all prescriptions for hydrocodone combination products must comply with regulations of a schedule II medication. A schedule II prescription must be written in a hard copy format, manually signed by the practitioner, and cannot contain refills. For long-term care or hospice patients, however, schedule II prescriptions may be transmitted by facsimile (directly from practitioner to pharmacy) and can be dispensed in partial fills.

This rule applies to all hydrocodone combination products, including but not limited to: hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Norco, Vicodin, Xodol, Hycet), hydrocodone and chlorpheniramine (Tussionex, TussiCaps), and hydrocodone and ibuprofen (Vicoprofen). This change may affect prescribing habits and the ability of the pharmacy to deliver hydrocodone combination products in the same manner due to more strict requirements. Consider reordering hydrocodone combination products several days in advance to facilitate the pharmacy’s ability to obtain a prescription prior to depleting the supply on-hand.

Pharmacy Services of Mobile, LLC, will continue to assist facilities in pursuing valid prescriptions for schedule II medications from practitioners during business hours. If assistance is needed after hours, facility staff will need to have the practitioner contact the on-call pharmacist to authorize an emergency fill in the event emergency criteria are met.

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