Can Wisconsin Pharmacists Repeatedly Partially Fill Schedule II Controlled Substance Prescriptions at the Patient's Request?
by Michael E. DeBisschop, PharmD, Katherine E. Rotzenberg, PharmD, M.B.A., BCPS
"Imagine a scenario like this (invented) example: Esmay Taylor, a regular patient, approaches your pharmacy counter. She appears much older than her 46 years would indicate. Before you can say a word, she looks you in the eye and says, “I’m worried about Isaiah,” her teenage son. “I don’t want these pills in the house with him there, but I can’t imagine continuing on with this pain. You know all the things you read in the news these days.” You look at the prescription, and see that it is for oxycodone, quantity 40, for acute pain associated with arthritis of her knee. Taylor’s jaw is set, but her eyes glisten with the sheen of unshed tears. “Is there a way I could have less of these pills in the house, but still have the rest available—you know, just in case I need them? I don’t want to have to bother the doctor again.”
Keywords: Analgesics, Opioid, Oxycodone, Acute Pain, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S., Opiate Overdose, Ambulatory Surgical Procedures, Inpatients, Wisconsin, Pandemics, Opioid Epidemic, Biometry, Drug Overdose, Opioid-Related Disorders, Pharmacy, Prescriptions, Anxiety
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2021 March/April Table of Contents
"Imagine a scenario like this (invented) example: Esmay Taylor, a regular patient, approaches your pharmacy counter. She appears much older than her 46 years would indicate. Before you can say a word, she looks you in the eye and says, “I’m worried about Isaiah,” her teenage son. “I don’t want these pills in the house with him there, but I can’t imagine continuing on with this pain. You know all the things you read in the news these days.” You look at the prescription, and see that it is for oxycodone, quantity 40, for acute pain associated with arthritis of her knee. Taylor’s jaw is set, but her eyes glisten with the sheen of unshed tears. “Is there a way I could have less of these pills in the house, but still have the rest available—you know, just in case I need them? I don’t want to have to bother the doctor again.”
Keywords: Analgesics, Opioid, Oxycodone, Acute Pain, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S., Opiate Overdose, Ambulatory Surgical Procedures, Inpatients, Wisconsin, Pandemics, Opioid Epidemic, Biometry, Drug Overdose, Opioid-Related Disorders, Pharmacy, Prescriptions, Anxiety
Download PDF
2021 March/April Table of Contents