(A) A practitioner, or the practitioner’s authorized delegate, shall review a patient‘s controlled substance prescription history and history of the administering of an opioid antidote to the patient pursuant to § 44-130-60 or 44-130-80, as maintained in the prescription monitoring program, before the practitioner issues a prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance. If an authorized delegate reviews a patient’s controlled substance prescription history and history of the administering of an opioid antidote to the patient as provided in this subsection, the practitioner must consult with the authorized delegate regarding the prescription and opioid antidote administering history before issuing a prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance. The consultation must be documented in the patient’s medical record.

(B) The requirements of this section do not apply to:

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-53-1645

  • Authorized delegate: means an individual who is approved as having access to the prescription monitoring program and who is directly supervised by an authorized practitioner or pharmacist. See South Carolina Code 44-53-1630
  • Patient: means the person or animal who is the ultimate user of a drug for whom a prescription is issued or for whom a drug is dispensed, or both. See South Carolina Code 44-53-1630
  • Practitioner: means an individual authorized pursuant to state and federal law to prescribe controlled substances. See South Carolina Code 44-53-1630

(1) a practitioner issuing a prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance to treat a hospice-certified patient;

(2) a practitioner issuing a prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance that does not exceed a five-day supply for a patient;

(3) a practitioner prescribing a Schedule II controlled substance for a patient with whom the practitioner has an established relationship for the treatment of a chronic condition; however, the practitioner must review the patient’s controlled substance history maintained in the prescription monitoring program at least every three months;

(4) a practitioner approving the administration of a Schedule II controlled substance by a health care provider licensed in South Carolina;

(5) a practitioner prescribing a Schedule II controlled substance for a patient in a skilled nursing facility, nursing home, community residential care facility, or an assisted living facility and the patient’s medications are stored, given, and monitored by staff; or

(6) a practitioner who is temporarily unable to access the prescription monitoring program due to exigent circumstances; however, the exigent circumstances and the potential adverse impact to the patient if the prescription is not issued timely must be documented in the patient’s medical record.

(C) A practitioner is deemed to be in compliance with this section if the practitioner utilizes technology that automatically displays the patient’s controlled substance prescription history from the prescription monitoring program in the practitioner’s electronic medical record system. The practitioner must be able to demonstrate that this technology has been deployed in his practice, but no additional documentation is required in the patient’s medical record.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 15 Contents