I need to renew my Vyvanse capsules, which is a controlled drug, for 90 days because I am going on a trip to Canada. My insurance company allows me to take a 90 day service. Is there a law that prevents 90 day services for controlled drugs?

50 -year-old man6 years ago
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50 -year-old man · 6 years ago
The prescription reads as follows. 30 vyvanse 30mg once a day in the morning, repeatable 5 times
50 -year-old man · 6 years ago
I have always renewed my medication for 30, 60 or 90 days without any problem. Including controlled drugs. Anyway, 90 days is the maximum allowed by my insurance company. I never refill in advance and have no problem with compliance.
But on my last trip to the pharmacy, the pharmacist refused. He said that the doctor must now write "serve up to 90 days at a time" on all prescriptions. This is something my doctor never did before and I regularly refilled my medication for 60 or 90 days. Did a new law, new regulation come into effect in April 2018? Or has it always been against the law to serve more than 30 days if the doctor did not write "serve up to 90 days at a time"? If so, does that mean pharmacists were choosing to do 60 or 90 day services despite the absence of the "serve up to 90 days" indication on the prescription?
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
Good morning, sir,
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
There is, strictly speaking, no law that prevents a pharmacist from serving a controlled drug (which is different from a narcotic drug) for more than 30 days at a time. That said, it is imperative to see how the physician prescribed this medication in the first place. If your current prescription specifies a quantity of pills to be dispensed (for example, if it says to dispense X number of pills at a time), the pharmacist must follow this prescription. If, on the other hand, the doctor has simply prescribed a total quantity (e.g. 360 tablets) or a so-called "standard" dosage (e.g. 1 tablet per day for 30 days, renewable 12 times), the pharmacist may serve you for more than 30 days at that time.
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
The pharmacist also has the right to serve a smaller amount of medication than a patient requests. This is their professional judgment.
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
I hope this answers your question.
50 -year-old man · 6 years ago
So there is no Health Canada law, no OPQ regulation that says you have to serve 60 or 90 capsules of Vyvanse, it's just that the pharmacist on duty decided not to serve me more than 30 according to "his judgment". Judgment that he can exercise on any drug, not just control drugs. Is that right?
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
If you have had a new prescription since the last time you received several months of Vyvanse at a time, it may be because of the way that new prescription was written. And while professional judgment can be applied to all types of prescriptions, it is far more relevant to do so with a controlled drug than with a simple high blood pressure medication, for example.
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
Have a nice day,
Alexandre Chagnon · 6 years ago
Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist

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