Medical professionals cannot simply prescribe scheduled drugs to anyone and everyone who approaches them with the associated symptoms. They have to keep a watch out for false pretenses.
Healthcare providers, hospitals, pharmacies and other entities that are licensed to dispense, administer or distribute CSA controlled substances are legally and morally bound to exercise extreme care and caution to ensure that these addictive and potentially hazardous drugs are not abused in any manner.
Physicians are at the front line in this war against the abuse of controlled substances! And they are also the most susceptible to falling prey to unscrupulous individuals who try to acquire the scheduled drugs by hook or by crook.
Think about it – it is difficult to get these drugs from pharmacies without the requisite prescription. Miscreants find it difficult to forge or tamper with the prescriptions. Stealing the drugs is not easy either as there are strict regulations governing the safe storage of the controlled substances. Getting their hands on these drugs at other points in the supply chain also proves to be quite challenging.
Physicians, dentists, veterinarians and other medical practitioners that prescribe controlled substances turn out to be a soft target for the drug diverters. It becomes quite difficult for these prescribers, during their hectic schedules of patient consultations, to make out who is genuinely in need of a scheduled drug and who is feigning it to get a prescription for illegitimate purposes.
However, they need to be all the more careful and watch out for any potential false pretenses. As the most common use of controlled substances is for relief from acute and chronic pain, the physicians should pay particular attention to the signs and symptoms thereof. Do not trust what the patients say and take them at face value; a healthy dose of skepticism is crucial here. So, watch out for strange stories, exaggerated symptoms, aggressive demands for medication, reluctance to cooperate for physical examination, unusually high knowledge of drugs and so on.
Moreover, they should also gain an understanding of the signs and symptoms of people misusing controlled substances. This will be a red flag for sure, though bear in mind that most of the diverters utilize such illicit measures to obtain the medications with the express purpose of illegally selling them to others.
Diversion prevention requires the medical practitioners to be alert, to be thorough and to be wary at all levels. They should use patient medication agreements and prescription safety to prevent diversion. In addition to this, they can engage the services of professional service providers that assist in maintaining full compliance with the legal requirements and responsibilities of dealing with controlled substances. They provide special controlled substance training which includes:
In sum, compassionate care remains supreme, but preventing abuse and diversion is crucial as well!
Physicians are at the front line in this war against the abuse of controlled substances! And they are also the most susceptible to falling prey to unscrupulous individuals who try to acquire the scheduled drugs by hook or by crook.
Think about it – it is difficult to get these drugs from pharmacies without the requisite prescription. Miscreants find it difficult to forge or tamper with the prescriptions. Stealing the drugs is not easy either as there are strict regulations governing the safe storage of the controlled substances. Getting their hands on these drugs at other points in the supply chain also proves to be quite challenging.
The easy target
Physicians, dentists, veterinarians and other medical practitioners that prescribe controlled substances turn out to be a soft target for the drug diverters. It becomes quite difficult for these prescribers, during their hectic schedules of patient consultations, to make out who is genuinely in need of a scheduled drug and who is feigning it to get a prescription for illegitimate purposes.
However, they need to be all the more careful and watch out for any potential false pretenses. As the most common use of controlled substances is for relief from acute and chronic pain, the physicians should pay particular attention to the signs and symptoms thereof. Do not trust what the patients say and take them at face value; a healthy dose of skepticism is crucial here. So, watch out for strange stories, exaggerated symptoms, aggressive demands for medication, reluctance to cooperate for physical examination, unusually high knowledge of drugs and so on.
Moreover, they should also gain an understanding of the signs and symptoms of people misusing controlled substances. This will be a red flag for sure, though bear in mind that most of the diverters utilize such illicit measures to obtain the medications with the express purpose of illegally selling them to others.
Diversion prevention requires the medical practitioners to be alert, to be thorough and to be wary at all levels. They should use patient medication agreements and prescription safety to prevent diversion. In addition to this, they can engage the services of professional service providers that assist in maintaining full compliance with the legal requirements and responsibilities of dealing with controlled substances. They provide special controlled substance training which includes:
- Understanding the Controlled Substances Act and how it applies to the prescribing and dispensing of medications
- Identifying the causes and types of pain
- Perceiving the common signals of addictive disorders
- Spotting and preventing diversion practices
In sum, compassionate care remains supreme, but preventing abuse and diversion is crucial as well!
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