Posted by J. Lester on January 2, 2001, at 18:00:13
In reply to Controlled substances, what are the rules?, posted by PhoenixGirl on January 2, 2001, at 11:50:46
> Does anyone know what the laws are about getting controlled substances like modafinil and ritalin for depression?
> Do insurance companies tend to pay for them only if they are being used for the FDA-approved purposes? I don't think any controlled substance has been approved for depression, even though they are used for it.
> One doctor said he would be arrested for prescribing ritalin! He was stupid in a lot of ways, though, and the pharmacist said that doctors can prescribe ritalin whenever they want to. I don't know what to think.
> I want to try things like ritalin and modafinil, probably ritalin first because I guess modafinil is very expensive? Hope someone can answer these questions.I believe doctors must be registered/licensed with DEA in order to be able to prescribe controlled substances. At least for the most restrictive schedules. Correct me anybody if I am wrong. It's completely futile to ASK a doctor to prescribe a controlled substance. No way whatsoever. Insurance may cover controlled drugs as it does with the rest of medications (it may not distinguish at all). My insurance (Merck Medco) does not care what the diagnosis and the medication were (so far), just any script filled at a pharmacy is covered automatically thru their computer system.
J.L.
poster:J. Lester
thread:50745
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001231/msgs/50767.html