What is post-dating?
Post-dating is the act of specifying a future date as the date of prescribing, rather than the actual date the prescription is written. A post-dated prescription does not indicate the actual date of prescribing. Post-dating prescriptions had been a common practice among prescribers caring for patients requiring long-term therapy with schedule II controlled substances (ie, patients with chronic pain or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Prescribers would prepare multiple prescriptions for the patient on the same day but would write different prescribing dates on the individual prescriptions. Federal regulations do not allow post-dating. The new rule allows prescribers to write for up to a 90-day supply by specifying the earliest fill date on the prescriptions. For example, Patient X visits Prescriber Y on March 1, 2008 for evaluation of their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The patient requires ongoing therapy with methylphenidate and has been on a stable therapeutic r
