Evidence status: CURRENT STATEWIDE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT WITH DEFINED SCOPE. Florida Statute §456.44 establishes standards for registrants prescribing controlled substances for chronic nonmalignant pain.

Quick read

For covered chronic nonmalignant pain treatment with Schedule II–IV controlled substances, Florida requires a written controlled-substance agreement. The statute identifies three minimum subjects for that agreement and adds separate ongoing assessment, treatment-plan, monitoring, referral, and recordkeeping duties.

Who is on the provider side

The statutory counterparty is the patient’s registered treating prescriber within §456.44. The individual depends on the patient and practice.

The three minimum agreement subjects

  1. Prescriptions and refills: the agreement addresses the number and frequency of controlled-substance prescriptions and refills.
  2. Compliance and discontinuation: the agreement addresses patient compliance and reasons controlled-substance therapy may be discontinued.
  3. Single treating registrant: controlled substances for chronic nonmalignant pain are prescribed by a single treating registrant unless otherwise authorized and documented.

Related statutory duties outside the agreement

  • A written plan for assessing risk of aberrant drug-related behavior is required; drug testing may be included.
  • The registrant develops an individualized treatment plan with objectives for pain/function where appropriate.
  • The patient is seen at intervals not exceeding three months to review efficacy, adherence, treatment progress, and continuing need.
  • Signs or symptoms of substance abuse trigger referral requirements under the statute.
  • Evidence or behavioral indications of diversion are followed by discontinuation of controlled-substance therapy and discharge, with documentation.

What Florida does not write into every agreement

Section 456.44 does not itself require every Florida patient to use one pharmacy, submit to a particular testing cadence, report for pill counts within a fixed number of hours, avoid medically authorized marijuana, attend physical therapy, lose replacement medication after theft, pay missed-visit fees, sign broad disclosure waivers, or accept immediate discharge for every contract violation. Individual practices may impose additional terms; those must be classified separately.

Profession-specific rules

Some Florida professional boards add requirements. The osteopathic chronic-pain rule, for example, requires drug testing before initial controlled-substance issuance and random testing at least twice per year. That is a profession-specific rule, not a universal statement about every Florida prescriber.

Primary sources

← Florida Contract-for-Care Evidence Library

Reviewed: October 4, 2026.

Evidence boundary: Applicability depends on the statute’s definitions, scope, and the patient’s treatment circumstances. This page describes the current public statutory framework, not a patient-specific legal conclusion.