The Centers for Medicine & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance on the provision that's included in section 7002(b) of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007, which was adopted by Congress in May.

The rule focuses on written orders, not verbal, faxed or electronically transmitted prescriptions. It doesn't apply when a managed care entity pays for the prescription, or in most situations when drugs are provided in certain institutional and clinical facilities.

CMS outlined three characteristics of tamper-resistant prescription pads, but each state will define which features meet those characteristics in order to be considered tamper-resistant. The characteristics must prevent unauthorized copying of a completed or blank prescription form; prevent the erasure or modification of information written on the prescription by the prescriber; or prevent the use of counterfeit prescription forms.

By Oct. 1 of this year, states require at least one of these requirements. By Oct. 1, 2008, states require all three characteristics on prescription pads to be considered tamper-resistant.

Click here for more information from CMS.