Rules Addressing PA Prescribing Practice
Effective November 30

The Medical Board adopted two rules addressing PA prescribing practice which go into effect on November 30, 2018.

Rule 4730-2-04 Period of on-site supervision of physician-delegated prescriptive authority. This rule replaces the old “provisional period of physician-delegated prescriptive authority” rule, as statutory changes did away with the “provisional period,” but now require a period of on-site supervision upon the initial issuance of the physician assistant’s valid prescriber number.

The rule clarifies the expectations for conducting the required period of on-site supervision of the physician assistant’s prescribing, without explicitly dictating the specific actions to be taken. The language is in response to the numerous inquiries received concerning how the hours should be tracked and whether the documentation must be submitted to the Medical Board. The rule also recognizes that when there are multiple supervising physicians they might designate one of them to be the “primary” and that it is possible that serial supervisory relationships may be required in order to complete the required number of hours.

4730-2-05 Addition of valid prescriber number after initial licensure. The is a new rule to replace the former “certificate to prescribe,” rule which is no longer applicable because statutory changes did away with the certificate to prescribe. The rule reflects current statutory language.

The rule clarifies the application procedure by which a physician assistant who did not receive a valid prescriber number as part of the issuance of the physician assistant license may apply for the addition of a valid prescriber number. In the Medical Board’s licensure system, the valid prescriber number acts as an endorsement to the physician assistant license number. A physician assistant must have a valid prescriber number in order to be authorized to prescribe or order any prescription drug.

Click here to view the revised PA rules.

Medical Marijuana

To learn how to enter a patient or caregiver into the Patient and Caregiver Registry, watch this brief video.

Below is a video highlighting what your patients need to know in order to become a medical marijuana patient in Ohio. For more info visit: medicalmarijuana.ohio.gov

Medical Marijuana Control Program
Frequently Asked Questions

How will I know if a patient is legitimately part of the OMMCP?
Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program patients’ dispensation of medical marijuana can be viewed in OARRS the same way you can view patients’ prescription history.

Will this affect chronic pain management contracts?
It is up to the discretion of the physician if they will modify their patients’ pain contracts to allow for use of medical marijuana. If a patient is part of the program, the medical marijuana is considered Schedule II per Ohio’s law, House Bill 523. If a patient is NOT registered with the program and has NOT received a recommendation from an Ohio-certified physician any marijuana indicated on a drug screen could be illicit use.

Can patients bring and consume their medical marijuana if they are admitted to an in-patient setting?
The use of medical marijuana within in-patient settings is up to the discretion of the facility or managing health care system.

Should a patient bring with them medical records confirming a qualifying condition when visiting a physician with an active Certificate to Recommend?
Although patients may present records, the CTR physician is required to obtain records directly from the other physician who has diagnosed the qualifying condition. Information on this and other expectations can be found in the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program Standard of Care Rules.