On October 5, 2007, Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law Public Act 95-0639, which amended the Illinois Nurse Practice Act and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to allow for the delegation of prescriptive authority for Schedule II controlled substances to advanced practice nurses (APNs). Previously, APNs were permitted prescriptive authority only for Schedule III, IV and V drugs. The law became effective on the day of signature. However, because of recently expressed DEA concerns, APNs are not yet fully authorized to write prescriptions for Schedule II drugs.

On November 16, 2007, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (Department) issued a notice to all licensed APNs, physicians and other licensed healthcare professionals. This notice stated that after reviewing the changes to the Nurse Practice Act and Illinois Controlled Substances Act, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) expressed concern that the Acts fail to grant statutory authority to the Department to issue Schedule II Controlled Substance registrations to APNs.

To legally issue and write prescriptions for Schedule II drugs, APNs must apply in writing for a revised Illinois Controlled Substance registration. The Department is currently preparing legislation and form changes that would provide authority for APNs to prescribe Schedule II drugs; however, those changes have not been completed.

Until an APN has obtained a revised Illinois Controlled Substance registration, that APN may not apply for or receive a revised DEA registration. Because APNs must hold both an Illinois Controlled Substance registration and a revised DEA registration in order to write prescriptions for Schedule II drugs, no APN may prescribe Schedule II controlled substances at this time.

If you have any questions regarding advanced practice nurses, or any midlevel or other healthcare provider, please contact your regular Hinshaw attorney.

This alert has been prepared by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. It is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship.