Florida Statutes
Chapter 456 - Health Professions and Occupations: General Provisions
456.42 - Written Prescriptions for Medicinal Drugs.

(1) A written prescription for a medicinal drug issued by a health care practitioner licensed by law to prescribe such drug must be legibly printed or typed so as to be capable of being understood by the pharmacist filling the prescription; must contain the name of the prescribing practitioner, the name and strength of the drug prescribed, the quantity of the drug prescribed, and the directions for use of the drug; must be dated; and must be signed by the prescribing practitioner on the day when issued. However, a prescription that is electronically generated and transmitted must contain the name of the prescribing practitioner, the name and strength of the drug prescribed, the quantity of the drug prescribed in numerical format, and the directions for use of the drug and must contain the date and an electronic signature, as defined in s. 668.003(4), by the prescribing practitioner only on the day issued.
(2) A written prescription for a controlled substance listed in chapter 893 must have the quantity of the drug prescribed in both textual and numerical formats, must be dated in numerical, month/day/year format, or with the abbreviated month written out, or the month written out in whole, and must be either written on a standardized counterfeit-proof prescription pad produced by a vendor approved by the department or electronically prescribed as that term is used in s. 408.0611. As a condition of being an approved vendor, a prescription pad vendor must submit a monthly report to the department that, at a minimum, documents the number of prescription pads sold and identifies the purchasers. The department may, by rule, require the reporting of additional information.
(3) A health care practitioner licensed by law to prescribe a medicinal drug who maintains a system of electronic health records as defined in s. 408.051(2)(a), or who prescribes medicinal drugs as an owner, an employee, or a contractor of a licensed health care facility or practice that maintains such a system and who is prescribing in his or her capacity as such an owner, an employee, or a contractor, may only electronically transmit prescriptions for such drugs. This requirement applies to such a health care practitioner upon renewal of the health care practitioner’s license or by July 1, 2021, whichever is earlier, but does not apply if:
(a) The practitioner and the dispenser are the same entity;
(b) The prescription cannot be transmitted electronically under the most recently implemented version of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT Standard;
(c) The practitioner has been issued a waiver by the department, not to exceed 1 year in duration, from the requirement to use electronic prescribing due to demonstrated economic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably within the control of the practitioner, or another exceptional circumstance demonstrated by the practitioner;
(d) The practitioner reasonably determines that it would be impractical for the patient in question to obtain a medicinal drug prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner and such delay would adversely impact the patient’s medical condition;
(e) The practitioner is prescribing a drug under a research protocol;
(f) The prescription is for a drug for which the federal Food and Drug Administration requires the prescription to contain elements that may not be included in electronic prescribing;
(g) The prescription is issued to an individual receiving hospice care or who is a resident of a nursing home facility; or
(h) The practitioner determines that it is in the best interest of the patient, or the patient determines that it is in his or her own best interest, to compare prescription drug prices among area pharmacies. The practitioner must document such determination in the patient’s medical record.
The department, in consultation with the Board of Medicine, the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, the Board of Podiatric Medicine, the Board of Dentistry, the Board of Nursing, and the Board of Optometry, may adopt rules to implement this subsection.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2003-41; s. 2, ch. 2006-271; s. 2, ch. 2009-202; s. 2, ch. 2011-141; s. 4, ch. 2014-113; s. 1, ch. 2019-112.

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