December 2019 - Newsletter #1

How to Buy from NorthWestPharmacy.com Once Florida’s New e-Prescribing Law Takes Effect

Please note that this only applies to you if your doctor is based in Florida and does not apply if your doctor is based in any other state.

The State of Florida has passed into law a requirement that doctors issue electronic prescriptions for transmission to pharmacies electronically. Starting January 2020, the requirement will start phasing into effect and all Florida doctors will be required to comply by July 2021. Since NorthWestPharmacy.com is not located in the USA, Florida doctors will not be able to transmit such electronic prescriptions to NorthWestPharmacy.com.

Fortunately, there are some important exemptions to the law which you and your Florida-based physician should be aware of and which should permit you to continue to order from NorthWestPharmacy.com in the same manner you have in the past - with a physically issued paper prescription.

The Florida Board of Medicine has summarized these exemptions on their website but the most important one is that if either you or your doctor determine that it is in your “best interest to compare prescription drug prices among area pharmacies”, the doctor just needs to document that in your medical file and can then issue you a physical prescription which you can choose to have filled at NorthWestPharmacy.com as you normally would. (See Section 456.42 (3)(h).)

The law does not appear to specifically define or limit what “area pharmacies” are and the law specifically states that “[e]lectronic prescribing may not interfere with a patient's freedom to choose a pharmacy.” (See Section 456.43 (1).)

There is another relevant exemption which states that your doctor can write you a physical prescription if he or she “reasonably determines that it would be impractical for [you to obtain the] drug prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner and such delay would adversely impact [your] medical condition.” (See Section 456.42 (3)(d).) If you advise to your doctor that it is impractical for you to obtain the prescribed medication locally - and, for example, due to the high cost locally - we expect that would give your doctor grounds to “reasonably determine” you should be issued a physical prescription that you can use to order with NorthWestPharmacy.com as you have done in the past.

We encourage you to review the Florida Board of Medicine’s website on this as well as the full text of the law, if you would like further details. We hope the above will assist you and your doctor but please contact us if you have any difficulties obtaining a physical prescription from your doctor.

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