Welcome
The Maine Medical Directors Association is a professional association of medical directors and physicians practicing in the long term care continuum dedicated to excellence in patient care.
On this site, MMDA will post original materials along with links to existing resources, tools, articles and legislative information designed to advance our mission to improve patient care and promote the professional development of long term care practitioners. MMDA members are encouraged to submit non-commercial, long term care related items which they feel should be shared with our members.
Free Resource: Tip Sheet on Controlled Substance Prescribing in LTC
Medical societies seeking to ensure compassionate and high quality care for long term care patients joined together to develop a "Tip Sheet on Prescribing for Controlled Substances in Long Term Care." The document is designed to assist physicians and other prescribers in their efforts to ensure proper controlled substances prescribing in long term care, and deal with aggressive enforcement actions by Drug Enforcement Administration agents. View Tip Sheet
DEA Issues Statement on Authorized Agents for Schedule III-V Controlled Substances
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a 5-page Statement of Policy on the Role of Authorized Agents in Communicating Controlled Substance Prescriptions to Pharmacies at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-25136.pdf. The DEA Statement provides an example of a written agreement that would confer authority to an agent to act on behalf of an individual practitioner with regard to controlled substance prescriptions. In the Statement, the DEA states "where a DEA-registered individual practitioner has made a valid oral prescription for a controlled substance in Schedules III-V by conveying all the required prescription information to the practitioner's agent, that agent may telephone the pharmacy and convey that prescription information to the pharmacist." This does not apply to Schedule II controlled substances. The Statement adds "An agent may not call in an oral prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance on behalf of a practitioner even in an emergency circumstance."
Individual practitioners may choose to designate and authorize one or more persons at one or more locations within or outside their practice to act as their agent. Likewise, an individual may act as an authorized agent for multiple individual practitioners depending upon the circumstances. A sample agreement designating the agent of practitioner for communicating controlled substance prescriptions to pharmacies is provided in the Statement.
AMDA staff is reviewing the Statement and will publish more details shortly. In addition, AMDA continues to partner with other associations to provide guidance to our respective memberships.
To read the DEA Statement, click here.
DEA response 7 months after AMDA Letter to the DEA
Click here to download both AMDA's November letter to the DEA in response to the DEA's Statement of Policy on the Role of Authorized Agents in Communicating Controlled Substance Prescriptions to Pharmacies
Nursing Home DEA Petition and Session Handout
Download the handout from MMDA President, Jabbar Fazeli, MD session on Nursing Homes and the DEA from the 2009 Maine Annual meeting. Dr. Fazelli has published a petition titled "Stop the DEA From Criminalizing Routine Geriatric Care in Nursing Homes" Click here to read the petition.
Attention All Certified Medical Directors: New Education Opportunities Now Available Online!
Earn credits toward CMD live management requirements for CMD recertification online through AMDA’s Billing and Coding in Long Term Care webinar series. Now you can earn live management meeting credits from the convenience of your home or office. This is a fantastic opportunity to get long term care specific education without the need to book flights or take time away from your practice.
Individual webinar registration fees are $55 for AMDA members and $75 for non-members. Registration is limited. Our pre-series webinar held in May sold out and we unfortunately had to turn registrants away. Purchase of the full series of 7 webinars guarantees you a space and only costs $350 for AMDA members and $490 for non-members. If your schedule doesn't allow you to attend all 7 webinars live, don't worry, series registrants will receive a link to the recorded webinar sessions five days after the live event along with a link to the required evaluation to claim self study CME credits. Live CME credits can only be awarded for participation in the live webinar.
Click Here To Learn More and Register
CDC 2010-2011 Influenza Updates
Click here to go to the CDC website for information on the 2010-2011 Flu Season.