We can help you establish the process of distributing pre-packaged medications directly to patients.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dispensing

Q: Are there any out of pocket costs to participate in the workers’ compensation program? 

A: There are no out of pocket costs for the medications or to be set up in the program. The Physician’'s Rx finances all these costs. If your state requires a dispensing license, a small fee may be required.

Q: Who does the billing and collections? 

A: The Physician’s Rx does all billing and collections. The physician is just required to provide us with the appropriate documentation.

Q: What special license requirements are needed for a physician to be able to dispense? 

A: All physicians are required by law to have a State Medical License and DEA Registration to dispense controlled substances. Some states require an additional license to dispense drugs. The Physician’s Rx will provide you with your current state information.

Q: Who can dispense out of a physician’s office?

A: Dispensing medications are defined by the State. Each state has different guidance for dispensing functions delegated to the physician's staff.

Q: If a physician has multiple offices, but only has one DEA license, can the physician dispense out of all his/her locations? 

A: YES - the physician may dispense non-controlled items from every location. BUT; the physician may only dispense controlled substances from the location that matches the address on his/her DEA license. A DEA license is required for every location that controlled substances are stored, administered or dispensed.

Q: What if a physician only has one DEA license but wants to dispense controlled medications out of a second location? 

A: The physician can apply for a new DEA license for the location needed.

Q: What if a home address is listed on a DEA license? 

A: Our suppliers are not able to mail medications to a home address. They can ship non-controlled medications to an office location. Please note that our suppliers are required to send all controlled substances to the address that matches the DEA license.

Q: What happens if a physician's DEA license expires? 

A: If a physician orders medications after his/her DEA license has expired, our suppliers will hold the order until the updated DEA license is received.

Q: Regarding the physicians DEA license, what if a physician/clinic moves locations? 

A: If the physician is currently ordering controlled substances, our suppliers will not be able to ship the meds to the new physician/clinic. The physician will need to change his/her address on the DEA license. Our suppliers can continue sending non-controlled medications to the account.

Q: Is there added liability for physicians who dispense? 

A: Physicians carry the same liability that they normally carry in writing a prescription. They have a small amount of additional liability for the storage and security of the drugs, the same as for injectible drugs in their office. As a pharmaceutical re-packager, our suppliers assume liability that each drug container is correctly packaged and labeled as to the quantity and identity of the product. The original manufacturer of each drug is responsible for the concentration of active ingredients, purity and effectiveness of the product. Our suppliers are responsible that the purity and effectiveness of the medication (when stored according to the labeling) is not altered through the expiration date on each container.

Q: Does dispensing medications increase the malpractice insurance of a physician? 

A: No. Our suppliers carry a policy that covers the physicians. Once an account is opened with The Physician’s Rx, the physician is automatically included on our suppliers’ coverage. The liability acts the same as if the physician was to write a prescription for the patient and send him/her to the pharmacy.

Q: Is there added liability for someone other than a physician dispensing the medications?

A: State dependant – depends on if that particular state requires that person to have additional licenses (i.e. – dispensing license, controlled substance license, etc). If they are appropriately licensed, they too, fall under our suppliers’ liability coverage. If they are in a state where there are no special licenses needed, and the law states that they are able to dispense to the patient, they too are covered. If they dispense and are not licensed and/or are not to be dispensing whatsoever in that state, they are not covered.

Q: Will a physician’s staff ever have to pack medication themselves? 

A: No. Our suppliers prepackage ALL the prescriptions before they ship to a physician’s office. The medication is ready to be dispensed when the customer receives their shipment.

Q: What if a physician does not want to carry controlled substances in their office?

A: We have a number of accounts that do not want controlled medications in their office. We recommend that they write prescriptions for controlled medications.

Q: What if a physician wants to add medications to their inventory?

A: The physician can add medications to their formularies at any time.

Q: What if a seal on the bottle is broken when an office receives their medication shipment? 

A: The medication(s) will need to be quarantined immediately. The account will need to inform us of the situation and we can order a product pick-up to retrieve the medications(s).

Q: What if a physician has questions about a medication they want to dispense out?

A: The physician’s office can call our suppliers directly and speak with one of the pharmacists on staff. If the pharmacist is not available, they are welcome to call a local pharmacy and talk to a pharmacist.

Q: What is a State Fee Schedule? (Florida = AWP + $4.18 dispensing fee)

A: Each state has a state fee schedule set for workers’ compensation reimbursements. Any procedure done on a workers’ compensation patient has a reimbursement that is calculated using the state fee schedule. This reimbursement amount is then billed out on the patients HCFAA bill and paid by the insurance company.

Q: What is an AWP?

A: An AWP (Average Wholesale Price) is a price set by each drug manufacturer (drug repackagers are licensed as manufacturers) for their products. It is comparable to the “list price” or “sticker price” (does not necessarily have any relationship to the actual sale price). Our suppliers maintain the registration of its AWP’s (for generic drugs) in 5 national databases that are used by insurers to calculate reimbursement. Brand-name drugs are billed using the AWP established by the Brand manufacturers (in those same databases). All drugs in the databases are identified by a distinct National Drug Code (NDC).

Q: Does the physician’s office have to calculate their own reimbursements based on the fee schedule? 

A: No. Our customer service department will provide each account with a table listing the NDC, AWP and reimbursement for each medication they order. Our goal is to minimize the clinics workload. More importantly, The Physician’s Rx is responsible for all billing!