No Signature Required: FDA Provides Temporary Relief from Obligation to Obtain Physical Signatures for Prescription Drug Samples

The Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) and implementing regulations establish procedures for distributing prescription drug samples, including requirements related to requests, receipts, and recordkeeping.  Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act § 503(d); 21 C.F.R. Part 203.  Typically, many drug manufacturers that use drug samples as part of their marketing programs provide samples through in-person visits by sales representatives.  FDA notes that during the COVID-19 public health emergency, drug manufacturers have been relying more on mail and common carriers to deliver these samples.

The desire of most people to avoid unnecessary in-person contact with others during this COVID-19 public health emergency has affected package delivery practices, in general, and increased the use of telemedicine for non-emergency doctor “visits.”  Recognizing these changes, FDA last week issued an immediately effective temporary guidance for industry entitled, “Temporary Policy on Prescription Drug Marketing Act Requirements for Distribution of Drug Samples During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency,” in which FDA, through the exercise of enforcement discretion, relaxes (for now) some requirements for obtaining  signatures for receipt of samples and expands where samples may be delivered during this time.  Except as noted, this guidance, like several others issued during this time, is intended to be temporary and to remain in effect only for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Under normal circumstances, a drug manufacturer or authorized distributor of record may deliver drug samples upon the written request of a licensed practitioner by mail or common carrier to either the licensed practitioner or to the pharmacy of a hospital or other healthcare entity specified by the requesting practitioner provided certain conditions are met. 21 C.F.R. § 203.30.  The new temporary guidance does not affect request requirements.

But the guidance loosens the requirements in the PDMA and regulations that a receipt of delivery contains certain specified information and is signed by the recipient.  In the interest of employee and patient safety at this time, mail and common carriers may be considering alternate ways of verifying receipt and FDA is doing the same.  Specifically, FDA states that it does not intend to take action against a manufacturer or authorized distributor of record that accepts alternate ways of verifying delivery and receipt of drug samples instead of obtaining the signature, provided that other receipt requirements are met.

FDA also lays out in the temporary guidance the conditions under which drug samples can be provided to a patient’s home or a licensed practitioner’s home.  The regulations limit the locations to which drug samples may be delivered to the licensed practitioner or to the designated pharmacy of a hospital or other healthcare facility.  Under the temporary guidance, drug samples may also be delivered to the patient’s home if the written request from practitioner is for an identified designated patient  (and has all the other usual written request requirements), and the receipt and recordkeeping requirements are met.

With respect to delivery to the licensed practitioner’s home being used as an office, FDA notes that neither the PDMA nor the regulations prohibit delivery to the practitioner’s home, provided all other request, receipt, and recordkeeping requirements are met.  FDA goes on to say that this interpretation represents its current thinking and is not anticipated to change following termination of the current emergency.  FDA intends to address the issue in a future guidance with appropriate changes based on comments and its experience with implementation.

Interestingly, the PDMA and regulations on their face do not require that the licensed practitioner’s home is being used as an office, but it appears that FDA assumes that this is the case.  In this era of telemedicine, it may not be difficult to meet that requirement, but it will be interesting to see if FDA expands on this idea in future guidance and requires more than intermittent use of the home for taking calls.