CMS Releases Tamper-Resistant Prescription Pad Guidance to State Medicaid Directors

CMS released guidance through a State Medicaid Director Letter today providing baseline requirements to States to define and implement tamper-resistant prescription pads by as required by law. The law requires that all written, non-electronic prescriptions for Medicaid outpatient drugs must be executed on tamper-resistant pads in order for them to be reimbursable by the federal government. In the letter, CMS clarifies that to be considered tamper resistant on October 1, 2007 a prescription pad must contain at least one of the following three characteristics:

* one or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent unauthorized copying of a completed or blank prescription form; or

* one or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber; or

* one or more industry-recognized features designed to prevent the use of counterfeit prescription forms.

However, beginning October 1, 2008, a prescription pad must contain all three characteristics to be considered tamper-resistant.