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NYSVMS' News Bulletin - Released Feb. 21, 2013

Enhanced Regulation of Tramadol and Hydrocodone begins Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013

Starting Feb. 23, 2013, Tramadol will become a controlled substance (Schedule IV)in New York, and Hydrocodone will become a Schedule II controlled substance in this state (currently it is a Schedule III controlled substance).

Both changes were enacted as part of the Prescription Drug Reform Act passed by the legislature and signed into law last year. While veterinarians were exempted from many of the new controlled substances prescribing requirements, the controlled substance classification changes for drugs used in both human and veterinary medicine will impact veterinary practices.

If you dispense Tramadol in your practice, you must follow all New York State rules for controlled substances starting on Saturday, Feb. 23. That means:

Prior to Feb. 23, you must take an inventory of all Tramadol on the premises.
After Feb. 23, you must include any stock of Tramadol in every inventory of controlled substances on the premises of the veterinary practice.
Tramadol must be kept in a secure location in the practice, with other controlled substances, with limited access by veterinary staff.
After Feb. 23, records for receipt, administration or dispensing of Tramadol must be kept as part of your controlled substance log.
You must report any dispensing of Tramadol in the monthly online reports your veterinary hospital makes to the New York State Department of Health through the HPN system set up at NYSDOH in 2006.

To prescribe Tramadol after Feb. 23:

the prescription must be written by a DEA-registered veterinarian, and the DEA number must be on the prescription;
the prescription must be provided to the client in writing, since electronic prescribing of controlled substances is not yet permitted in New York; and
refills on a prescription for Tramadol are limited to 5.

If you dispense Hydrocodone in your practice, you are already following the regulations for controlled substances. However, after Feb. 23:

Hydrocodone must be kept in a secure location as required for Schedule II controlled substances; and
records for Hydrocodone must kept with records for Schedule II controlled substances, which must be kept separately from records for Schedule III-IV controlled substances.

If you prescribe Hydrocodone, after Feb. 23:

Hydrocodone may only be prescribed by a veterinarian authorized to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances; and
no refills may be authorized on any prescription for Hydrocodone.

The NYSVMS is working with the AVMA for confirmation of the federal requirements that apply to any veterinary dispensing or prescribing of phenylpropanolamine (Proin). Look for additional information on this subject in the next few weeks.

The NYSVMS will be offering member veterinarians special webinars on the regulations for controlled substance dispensing and prescribing in the Spring.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, or their impact on the transportation of these drugs, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We will do our best to compile all these questions and provide you with answers as soon as we can.

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