A STOP Act requirement to check the NC Controlled Substances Reporting System (NC CSRS) before prescribing certain controlled substances went into effect July 7. That means controlled substances prescribers should be checking a patient's 12-month prescription history before writing any initial prescription for a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance. A list of medicines subject to the mandatory use provision can be found here.

NC DHHS is offering free one-on-one technical assistance to anyone who is having difficulty using NC CSRS. To help NC DHHS determine how best to meet training needs, NCMB agreed to help NC CSRS survey physicians and PAs to identify areas of concern.

COMPLETE THE NC CSRS SURVEY

If you aren't currently successfully using NC CSRS, it's not too late.

Visit NCMB's NC CSRS Resource page to access FAQs, find links to registration and CSRS training and more. If your practice uses EHR, be sure to inquire with NC CSRS about integrating your system with the prescription drug database - it's much faster and easier to search patient prescription histories this way than entering searches manually. Find information about integration here.

Exemptions to the mandatory CSRS provision include:

• Controlled substances administered in a health care setting, hospital, nursing home, outpatient dialysis facility or residential care facility.

• Controlled substances prescribed for the treatment of cancer or another condition associated with cancer.

• Controlled substances prescribed to patients in hospice care or palliative care.