Do Not Forget – January 31, 2019, Deadline!

Section 456.0301, Florida Statutes, requires each prescribing practitioner registered with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and approved to prescribe controlled substances to complete a board approved course on prescribing controlled substances by January 31, 2019.  The current law does not allow the Department of Health to renew a license if the licensee does not complete the course by January 31, 2019. 

As of last week, only 55.2% of Medical Doctors have completed the approved course or notified the Department of Health that they are not registered with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. 

As a reminder, the Department of Health must receive from each licensed physician either:

• Confirmation that s/he has completed the required controlled substance prescribing course; or
• Confirmation that s/he is not individually registered with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances

Providers will not be able to renew their license if they do not complete a Florida approved course by January 31, 2019.

If you have not done so already, please follow the steps below to ensure compliance:

1. Visit our secure “Online Services” website: http://www.flhealthsource.gov/mqa-services
2. Do you already have an account?
   1. Click “Yes” and log in using your MQA Online Services user ID and password
   2. Click “No” and follow the instructions provided to complete your one-time account registration
3. Once logged in:
   1. Go to the “Manage My License” section
   2. Select “Add/Change DEA Registration” in the drop-down list and follow the instructions to indicate if you hold a current registration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
      1. If you hold a current individual DEA Registration
         1. You may provide your DEA number
         2. You MUST complete the CE/CME course by January 31, 2019
      2. If you are using the DEA registration of an institution or supervisor and do not have an individual DEA registration
         1. Indicate that you are not registered with the DEA
         2. You do not have to take the CE/CME course by January 31, 2019
      3. If you do not have a current individual DEA registration
         1. Indicate that you are not registered with the DEA
         2. You do not have to take the CE/CME course by January 31, 2019

After indicating you are not registered with the DEA then you DO NOT have to take a course on controlled substance prescribing.

Please email Takecontrol@FLhealth.gov if you have any questions.