Registering with the DEA and Prescribing Controlled Substances

Guidelines for Practice Success | Managing Regulatory | Drug Enforcement Agency

Any dentist who prescribes controlled substances in Schedules II, III, IV, or V must register with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) every three years. At the time this content was developed (2016), the cost of a three-year DEA registration was $731.

DEA regulations cover:

  • prescribing a controlled substance to be filled at a pharmacy
  • giving a patient a controlled substance to take later
  • giving a patient a controlled substance in the office, to swallow or through injection

See the 糖心logoFAQ on Registering with the DEA, the 糖心logoDo’s and Don’ts for Prescribing Controlled Substances, the 糖心logoTip Sheet for e-Prescribing Controlled Substances, and the 糖心logoTip Sheet on the Safety and Inventory Control of Controlled Substances for information on topics including:

  • why dentists register with the DEA
  • whether dentists can opt to only write prescriptions for drugs that don’t require a DEA number and refer patients needing prescriptions for controlled substances to another healthcare provider
  • how the DEA determines the cost to register
  • how the agency spends the monies collected via registration fees
  • whom to contact with questions about the DEA registration fees
  • tips for writing prescriptions • how e-prescribing protects your patients – and you
  • recommendations on storing and maintaining proper inventory controls

Complete information is available in the DEA Practitioner’s Manual: An Informational Outline of the Controlled Substances Act.

Resources:

Tags
Legal Regulatory
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