Schedule 2 Prescribing Difficulties at CVS

Aloha,

The Hawaii Academy of PAs recently received a report that a prescription for a schedule II medication was rejected at a Big Island CVS.  Per the CVS pharmacist, an internal communique was sent to at least all Big Island CVS locations (unsure if this is statewide) citing an outdated version of Hawaii Administrative Rules 16-85-49, which limits PA prescriptive authority to schedules III-V, to justify the restriction.  As you are aware, due to the dedicated efforts of veteran HAPA members, HAR 16-85-49 was amended in February 2015 to broaden prescriptive authority to include schedule II.

HAPA is working to clarify the scope of the CVS communique and to rectify the problem as soon as possible.  Please let us know if you have any difficulties with prescrtiptions for schedule II medications outside of the Big Island.  We will keep you updated through this process.

For your reference, a copy of HAR 16-85-49 is included.  The likely confusion is that the amendment is found on page 48 of the document, while the outdated language is included on page 20.