Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features some news from the drug war, as New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has released an open letter alerting medical professionals that hydrocodone is now a Schedule II controlled substance under New York State law.
The change from Schedule III to II, mandated by I-STOP legislation passed last year, subjects all strengths, formulations and combination products of hydrocodone to a variety of stricter controls, including a prohibition on automatic refills. The Attorney General also shared the finding that statewide prescriptions for hydrocodone filled increased from 3.8 to 4.5 million from 2007 to 2009 (18.4%), while those for oxycodone have increased an “astonishing” 82 percent.
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