12 days remain to switch to tamper-resistant prescription pads for Medicaid without reimbursement penalty

Starting April 1, all written prescriptions submitted for payment through the Vender Drug Program for Texas Medicaid beneficiaries, including over-the-counter prescriptions, must be written on tamper-resistant prescription pads or else physician reimbursement will be restricted.

With this regulation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intend to reduce instances of unauthorized, improperly-altered and counterfeit prescriptions. This regulation does not apply to prescription orders sent to pharmacies over the telephone, fax or electronically, which could indicate CMS’ preference for physicians to switch to one of these alternative-approved prescribing methods.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission released a question-and-answer document that defines the specifications of the new regulation. In it, HHSC states that prescription paper must meet one of three characteristics by April 1 to be considered tamper resistant. The paper must prevent: unauthorized copying of completed or blank prescription forms, erasure or modification of information written on the prescription form, and the use of counterfeit prescription forms. By Sept. 1 the paper must meet all three characteristics to qualify. HHSC recommends using tamper-resistant prescription pads that meet all characteristics on all patients to avoid confusion.

For more information on obtaining tamper-resistant prescription pads, applicability to different patient populations and pharmacist verification of prescriptions, read the DSHS question-and-answer document by following this link. To access a list of approved tamper-resistant prescription pad vendors, follow this link to TMA’s Web site.