Pursuant to its powers under Section 36(a) of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, the Dangerous Drugs Board hereby amends Board Regulation No. 4, Series of 1989 as follows:

SECTION 1.       The Title thereof shall read thus -

"SUBJECT: Increasing the Quantity of Morphine or Pethidine that can be Prescribed Exclusively for Cancer Patients in One (1) DDB Prescription Form or Acquired Through Local Purchase Form for Dangerous Drugs, and Other Conditions."

SECTION 2.       A physician shall not prescribe in one (1) yellow prescription form (DDB Form No. 1-72) Morphine or Pethidine in excess of the following quantities:

a)      Tablets (oral) - 42 pieces but not to exceed 2.1 g of Pethidine or 840 mg of Morphine

b)      Vials/ Ampuls - 28 mL

-      not to exceed 1.4 g ( Pethidine)

-      not to exceed 448 mg (Morphine)

If the dangerous drugs prescribed exceed the above quantity dispensing thereof shall be done through DDB Form No. 8-72.

a)      Tablets (oral) - 84 pieces but not to exceed:

-      4.2 g of Pethidine

-      1.68 g of Morphine

b)      Vials/ Ampuls - 56 mL

-      not to exceed 2.8 g ( Pethidine)

-      not to exceed 896 mg (Morphine)

SECTION 3.       The provisions of the Generics Act of 1988 notwithstanding, prescriptions for dangerous drugs such as Morphine and Pethidine shall continue to be filled in accordance with Board Regulation No. 11, S. 1973, dated July 31, 1973 (Filling of Prescriptions for Dangerous Drugs).

SECTION 4.       Morphine or Pethidine shall be prescribed in only one (1) dosage form at one time in one prescription.

SECTION 6.       If neither Morphine or Pethidine is available, another prescription for the other drug may be issued but only after the first prescription has been retrieved, cancelled, and retained by the physician.  If both are not available, then the prescription shall be cancelled by the physician. In the case of dangerous drugs covered by DDB Form No. 8-72, the form shall be returned to the Board or the Regional Health Office, as the case may be for cancellation.  After its cancellation, a new form shall be issued to obtain the available drug of choice and the same procedure indicated in Section 2 of Board Regulation No. 6., S. 1989 shall be observed.

SECTION 7.       In prescribing dangerous drugs for cancer patients, the physician shall, in clear and unequivocal terms, indicate in the prescription the diagnosis of cancer.

SECTION 8.       Violation of this Regulation shall be ground for administrative action without prejudice to criminal prosecution if warranted.

SECTION 9.       All Board regulations and other issuances inconsistent with these provisions are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 10.    This Regulation shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks, whichever is earlier.

Adopted: 19 Oct. 1989

(SGD.) THOMAS P. MARAMBA, JR., M.D., M.H.A.
Vice-Chairman
(Undersecretary of Health for Standards and Regulation)

Effective: 28 November 1989