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Sending more prescriptions electronically will reduce the administrative burden on both GP practice and pharmacy staff;

Instalment direction – Where the prescription is intended to be supplied in instalments a valid instalment direction is required

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The person who accepts the CDs for transit should sign for receipt. This may be on the duplicate requisition (if space permits) or may be in a separate book kept for this purpose. Electronic tools are now available, for use in a dispensary, that can record electronically the identity of the person accepting receipt of the CDs either by photograph or signature (on electronic signature pad). This results in no ambiguity of staff through poor handwriting and therefore decreased risk of fraudulent activity. The automated system can integrate with the ePMA or EHR and will determine which drugs are needed for which patients and which wards. The term ‘controlled drug’ is defined by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as ‘any substance or product for the time being specified in Part I, II or III of Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971’.

Date – The prescription needs to include the date on which it was signed. CD prescriptions are valid for 28 days after the appropriate date on the prescription. The appropriate date is either the signature date or any other date indicated on the prescription (by the prescriber) as a date before which the drugs should not be supplied – whichever is later. SOPs should be in place to ensure the legality of prescriptions and safe prescribing practices with reduced opportunity for dependency, overdose, and diversion. All destruction needs to be witnessed. The staff who are authorised to destroy and dispose of CDs need to be known and they need to be aware of the method of denaturing and destruction. The record keeping of the destruction and witness arrangements need to be in place and robust. AuditprovisionThe overall aim of the legal framework around CDs is to reduce criminality, whilst the regulations are in place to enable healthcare with CDs for patients. We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Organisations should carry out a risk assessment to determine whether CDs in schedule 3,4 and 5 should be handled as those in schedule 2. We would strongly recommend that this includes weak opioids such as codeine, and morphine sulfate 10mg/5ml solution, and benzodiazepines.