Legislators Urge FDA to Act Faster on Painkiller Restrictions

Congressional lawmakers, in a letter, are urging the FDA to speed up their plans to tighten access to hydrocodone painkillers, including Vicodin. The letter was written by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and signed by a bipartisan group of five other senators and two representatives.

Last month, an FDA advisory committee voted in favor of tightening restrictions on the highly addictive painkillers. The new restrictions would require that hydrocodone be stored in vaults at healthcare facilities and would require that patients receive new prescriptions for refills, which they would not be able to obtain by fax or phone. It would also prevent nurse practitioners and physician assistants from prescribing hydrocodone.

Critics have said that the refill requirement would be a burden to nursing home residents with limited mobility, who would have to visit their doctors to receive the drugs.

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