| Question: Is
it appropriate to provide a DEA registration number on prescriptions written
for medications other than controlled substances?
Answer: DEA strongly opposes the use of a DEA
registration number for any purpose other than the one for which it was
intended, to provide certification of DEA registration in transactions
involving controlled substances. The use of
DEA registration numbers as an identification
number is not an appropriate use and could lead to a weakening of the registration
system. Although DEA has repeatedly made its position known to industries
such as insurance providers
and pharmacy benefit managers, there is currently
no legal basis for DEA to prevent or preclude companies from requiring
or requesting a practitioner's DEA registration number.
In response to concerns of practitioners and professional
organizations, DEA and several medical associations joined together in
a Consensus Statement opposing inappropriate use of the DEA registration
number.
The Consensus Statement declares the use of the
DEA registration number for uses other than its original intent inappropriate.
The Statement also encourages the Secretary of Health and Human Services
to accelerate implementation of the national provider identifier system,
mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996.
Source: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/pressrel/consensus.pdf
Consensus Statement to Eliminate the Improper Use of Drug Enforcement
Administration Registration Numbers The Controlled Substances Act of 1970
(CSA) was enacted to regulate the lawful use of, and eliminate the illegal
distribution of controlled substances.
The CSA and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act require a practitioner
to obtain and maintain a current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
registration in order to purchase, possess, distribute, and prescribe controlled
substances.
The intent of the DEA registration number is to identify and validate
those individuals who have been authorized by the federal DEA to prescribe
controlled substances in the course of their professional practice. The
disclosure of a practitioner’s DEA registration number to entities other
than those involved in the legal distribution of controlled substances
or the enforcement of the laws governing their legal distribution may facilitate
the diversion of controlled substances from the legal channels of distribution.
The improper use of the DEA registration number by insurance companies
and/or other health care providers for identification purposes is contrary
to the spirit of the CSA and national drug control policies.
The improper use of the DEA registration number for identification purposes
results in an unnecessary proliferation in the issuance of DEA registrations
to many health care professionals who have neither a need nor desire to
use or handle controlled substances in their chosen professions. This increases
the probability of prescription fraud and diversion.
The associated use of “fake” or “dummy” DEA registration numbers in
pharmacies as an effort to satisfy insurance claims increases the probability
that improper DEA numbers will be used forcontrolled drug prescriptions,
which is a violation of DEA regulations.
The Congress of the United States mandated that the Department of Health
and Human Services implement a national provider identifier system when
it passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,
which was signed by the President on August 21, 1996. This national identifier
system should be funded and implemented as authorized by the Congress.
It is therefore agreed to and affirmed by the listed entities that the
use of the DEA number for uses other than its original intention should
be eliminated through appropriate public policy initiatives, which include,
but are not limited to: voluntary actions by individual firms or groups;
revised state laws or regulations; Congressional mandates and/or federal
legislation. We encourage the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
accelerate efforts to implement the national provider identifier system.
It is a solution to the problems identified above and it is mandated by
law.
Drug Enforcement Administration
American Academy of Family Physicians
American College of Physicians
American Society of Internal Medicine
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
American Academy of Physician Assistants
American Optometric Association
Federation of State Medical Boards
American Osteopathic Association
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