Despite DEA Accommodation, Many Pharmacies Prohibit Hydrocodone Refills

Although pharmacies can legally dispense remaining refills of prescriptions for rescheduled hydrocodone combination products submitted prior to October 6, 2014, over the next 6 months, many drug chains have chosen not to honor those refills, an investigation undertaken by Pharmacy Times has revealed.

According to representatives from 3 industry organizations, those decisions likely stem from issues with pharmacy quality and safety processes, payer reimbursement policies, and conflicting state laws.

“When the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued the final rule, it said that these refills, under their regulation, would remain valid until April 8, 2015. That led us to look at what the states are doing, because they have their own regulations for controlled substances,” Kevin N. Nicholson, RPh, JD, vice president of public policy and regulatory affairs for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), told Pharmacy Times in an exclusive interview. “We’ve heard from a number of states that they are following the DEA’s lead, but a lot haven’t said anything. The fact is, there is a lot of unknown and confusion…and we’re still waiting to see how it’s going to play out.”

Under the DEA regulatory sanction, which reclassified all drugs containing the opioid hydrocodone as Schedule II controlled substances, pharmacies cannot honor refills of prescriptions for hydrocodone products submitted on or after October 6, 2014, and prescribers must submit a new, handwritten prescription for each 30-day supply of the narcotic. For valid hydrocodone prescriptions submitted prior to that date, however, pharmacies can legally dispense authorized refills until April 8, 2015.

Nevertheless, representatives from Walgreens, CVS Health, ShopRite, and several other chains have disclosed that pharmacists across their stores will not be honoring those refills.

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