DEA# and California Furnishing license for the ED

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Specializes in Emergency,.

Quick question,

Is there a way for me to get my DEA # prior to getting my CA furnishing license?

I am one month into my 6 month "probation" and the hospital PharmDs don't want me to order any schedule II meds until I get my DEA#.

it's hard to work in the ED without being able to order pain meds.

any help on this one?

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You need your furnishing number prior to DEA registration. You may also need to complete a specific course to get scheduale 2 authority.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, OR, FNP.

Try working in a state where they don't trust us w/ Shed II - (TX)

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

You don't need a DEA number to order inside the hospital. You only need the DEA for scripts the pt gets filled elsewhere.

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Specializes in Emergency,.
You don't need a DEA number to order inside the hospital. You only need the DEA for scripts the pt gets filled elsewhere.

Is this law or hospital protocol?

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

It is per the DEA.

Question: What is a prescription? Answer: A prescription is an order for medication which is dispensed to or for an ultimate user. A prescription is not an order for medication which is dispensed for immediate administration to the ultimate user (e.g., an order to dispense a drug to an inpatient for immediate administration in a hospital is not a prescription). To be valid, a prescription for a controlled substance must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a registered practitioner acting in the usual course of sound professional practice.

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Specializes in ER; CCT.
You don't need a DEA number to order inside the hospital. You only need the DEA for scripts the pt gets filled elsewhere.

Not sure where you are getting your information but that is not correct. Whenever a NP orders a drug (in California) they do so under a standardized procedure and the function is furnishing. There is no authority that provides only for the need for a furnishing and DEA registration number if the NP is ordering scheduled drugs outside of the hospital setting. Moreover, there is no waiver for NPs that are ordering narcs within the hospital as not having to procure both a furnishing and a DEA number:

The Boards Website provides:

"The BRN issues a furnishing number to a nurse practitioner that allows him or her to "order" or furnish drugs and devices to patients using approved standardized procedures. A nurse practitioner with a furnishing number may obtain a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number if they want to order controlled substances as needed for patient care."

http://www.rn.ca.gov/applicants/ad-pract.shtml#npf

CA B & P CODE:

2836.2. Furnishing of Drugs or Devices Defined

Furnishing or ordering of drugs or devices by nurse practitioners is defined to mean the act of

making a pharmaceutical agent or agents available to the patient in strict accordance with a

standardized procedure. All nurse practitioners who are authorized pursuant to Section

2831.1 to furnish or issue drug orders for controlled substances shall register with the United

States Drug Enforcement Administration.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, Pain, Emergency Medicine.

My bad, California is odd. The states I practice in defer to the DEA.

thanks for the correction,

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Specializes in ER; CCT.
My bad, California is odd. The states I practice in defer to the DEA.

thanks for the correction,

Odd is a kind word for what we have here. I could be wrong, but I think California is the only state where NP's can't "prescribe" but we "furnish" or "make agents available". Kind of like what drug dealers do I suppose.

Also, for the OP - make sure you have a separate set of SP's in place just for you in the interim between your NP certification and the time when you get your NPF. Why? SP's require minimum credentials enumerated in the document (See CA BRN info for SP development). Most include requirement for NPF as formulary is needed. If they just add your name to this list and you are using these as the legal instrument to practice when you go outside of basic nursing, you would be outside of the scope of the SP's - technically practicing medicine without a license. I made up one when I started (without a NPF), then used those for about 7-8 months; then when my NPF came, made up a different set, now inclusive of the NPF - but not including scheduled drugs; then when my dea came, was added to mix with the rest. Rebeca Zettler sells a pretty good "fill-in the blank" type deal for this. Just make sure you keep your own copies in a safe place.

I'm told that one of the first things that occurs in any lawsuit involving NP's is they try and prove that you were operating outside of your scope of practice. Not sure if this is true or not, but for new NP's not in the know with SP's without a diligent manager taking care of these things, it wouldn't be too hard to prove if new NP's are just added to the list with others.

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