Medicaid Rx Pad Requirement
Delayed until April 1, 2008
The federal law requiring all non-electronic prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries to be written on tamper-resistant prescription forms has been delayed and will not take effect until April 1, 2008.  

Distribution of 40 mg Methadone
Formulation Restricted
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently issued an advisory announcing that manufacturers of methadone hydrochloride 40 mg tablets have agreed to restrict distribution of this formulation of the drug. As of January 1, 2008, the 40 mg tablets, which are not FDA approved for use in pain management, will only be distributed to hospitals and facilities that have been authorized for detoxification and maintenance treatment of persons with opioid addiction. The 5 mg and 10 mg formulations of methadone hydro-chloride, which are approved for the treatment of pain, will continue to be available to all authorized registrants, including retail pharmacies.

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment  - POLST Legislation
Introduced!
The California Coalition for Compas-sionate Care was pleased to announce that on February 22, a bill was introduced in the California Assembly that would establish POLST as the legal equivalent of a pre-hospital DNR. The Bill, AB 3000, is authored by Assembly member Lois Wolk (Woodland) and co-authored by Senator Elaine Alquist (Santa Clara  Valley).