Going to multiple doctors and pharmacies to get multiple prescriptions filled for the same ailment is called doctor shopping. It is a serious problem that has contributed to the opioid epidemic, and states are cracking down on it. For example, you may take your child with strep throat to one doctor to get a prescription.

There are a lot of dangers that come with doctor shopping; however, the biggest danger is that this has led to a lot of dangerous medications that flood the streets. One of the biggest issues facing the healthcare system today is the opioid epidemic. This is an epidemic that has been created by a large number of prescriptions being written for opioid and narcotic medications. Some of the biggest examples include oxycontin, hydrocodone, Percocet, Valium, and Vicodin. There are some people who go to multiple doctors to try to get multiple prescriptions for all of these medications.

On a more ominous note, doctor shopping may be in the service of obtaining unnecessary prescription medications for illicit use. The salient point here is that doctor shopping represents a broad range of patient behaviors that extend beyond merely procuring illicit prescription medications. According to a study cited by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of out every 143 U.S. patients who received an opioid prescription in 2008 got them from multiple doctors in a pattern suggesting doctor shopping. What’s more, the article points out, one subset of suspected doctor shoppers obtained an average of 32 opioid prescriptions from 10 different doctors over a 10-month period. The addict is disregarding the medical opinion that they want to hear because they are hooked on the drug.

Start healing from addiction today

Meeting with a lawyer can help you understand your options and how to best protect your rights. In this situation, Tom needed pain management and had a legitimate reason for an oxycodone prescription. However, he concealed a material fact — that he’d be selling the second prescription to recreational users — that would put him in violation of HS 11173. She has an interest in medical writing and has a keen interest in evidence-based medicine. Weekly updates on conditions, treatments, and news about everything happening inside pain medicine. Additionally, if you notice your loved one is exhibiting any of these behaviors, it may be time to get help.

• Doctor shopping is the act of manipulating or deceiving doctors into prescribing medications in order to then divert the drugs for illicit use and sale.
• What’s more, the article points out, one subset of suspected doctor shoppers obtained an average of 32 opioid prescriptions from 10 different doctors over a 10-month period.
• The head of the foundation argues that while prescribers are perfectly within their rights to withhold medication, there are other options, such as referring diversionary patients to treatment.
• As long as all the medical professionals on the team are aware of the medications prescribed by the others, this is entirely safe.
• Some patients who “doctor shop” don’t realize they’re breaking the law.

Louisiana – Patients must disclose the name of any previously prescribed controlled substances, the amount prescribed, and the number of refills. But these crimes generally are prosecuted by the states, all of which have laws prohibiting doctor shopping. 1) The defendant obtained, or tried to obtain, or received the administration or prescription of, or tried to receive the administration or prescription of a controlled substance.

Why Do Addicts Doctor Shop?

Doctor shopping is detrimental for everyone, including those who’ve never doctor shopped. The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. There are no shortcuts in this process and through endless support, we provide intensive care on your inpatient rehab for alcoholism journey to recovery. Riverside Recovery of Tampa understands all of the emotional challenges of addiction recovery and is here to support you or your loved one. Kasteler J, Kane RL, Olsen DM, Thetford C. Issues underlying prevalence of “doctor-shopping” behavior.

Assessment of abuse of tianeptine from a reimbursement database using “doctor shopping” as an indicator. Importantly, not all studies have found relationships between doctor shopping and prescription misuse. For example, in a different study by Wilsey et al,25 using data from the California Prescription Monitoring Program, investigators did not find a relationship between doctor shopping and the abuse of opioids. This article discusses doctor shopping laws in general, examples of federal and state laws, and common punishments.

Striking back at Doctor Shopping

Pradel et al4 describe doctor shopping as the simultaneous use of several physicians by a patient. Rouby et al5 define doctor shopping as simultaneous consultation with several physicians during the same period. This kind of doctor shopping lacks intention to commit malingering for material gain and is the result of such mental conditions. Encouraging as though those figures are, doctors caution that doctor shopping is a symptom of the larger opioid crisis running across America. Past research has found that prescription monitoring databases can prevent 10 deaths related to opioid abuse every day, but public health experts fear that this will simply drive addicted patients to other sources of drugs .

As expected, the explicit definitions in the literature vary considerably, with a significant proportion focusing on a given illness episode. For example, Lo et al1 define doctor shopping as the changing of doctors without a professional referral during alcoholism & hypoglycemia the same illness episode. Hagihara et al2 describe doctor shopping as consulting multiple doctors during the same illness period. Macpherson et al3 define doctor shopping as patient contact with three or more care sites during a single illness.

They may lie about symptoms, deny receiving previous medications, omit information, purposely injure themselves, claim they lost previous prescriptions, or commit other forms of deception. The drugs they’re after are typically narcotics such as Vicodin, Xanax, or Oxycontin. Doctor shopping is the practice of visiting multiple physicians to obtain multiple prescriptions. It is a common practice of people with substance use disorders, suppliers of addictive substances, hypochondriacs or patients of factitious disorder and factitious disorder imposed on another. A doctor who, for a price, will write prescriptions without the formality of a medical exam or diagnosis is known as a “writer” or “writing doctor”. Every state has adopted some version of the anti-fraud provision found in the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act or the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

Even though the goal is to keep the local community safe, it is possible for people who have legally been given prescriptions to be accused of doctor shopping. In this situation, it is important to rely on a trained criminal defense attorney in Florida. Illegal and prescription medications are flooding the streets, and virtually all of them are dangerous and addictive. Unfortunately, a lot of them have valid prescriptions that are filled by a local doctor. People engaged in doctor shopping should be aware that even if their conviction does not feature significant jail time or fines, there still could be life-changing consequences – especially if the conviction comes as a felony.

The Dangers Of Doctor Shopping

As the comfort level increases between the physician and patient, the patient is more comfortable sharing any concerns. The physician will come to know the patient very well, so any changing health concerns can be considered alongside a first-hand patient history. Pharmacy shopping occurs when a patient picks up their prescriptions from multiple pharmacies. For instance, if someone has one painkiller killed at pharmacy A and another filled at pharmacy B, a different chain from the former, this is considered pharmacy shopping. Prescription medications can be extremely helpful for treating or managing a wide variety of illnesses and diseases.

Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life

This is the practice of going from place to place, trying to talk to as many doctors and pharmacists as possible to get prescriptions filled. For example, if you have a child with strep throat, he or she might be prescribed an antibiotic. Prescription fraud , which makes alcohol addiction and abuse it illegal to use fraud, deceit or concealment of a material fact to obtain a controlled substance. Prescription fraud can carry sentences as high as three years in county jail, but sentences can vary based on the facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history.

This ongoing column is dedicated to the challenging clinical interface between psychiatry and primary care—two fields that are inexorably linked.

At October Road, we offer a wide range of programs that focus on specific addictions, including prescription drug addiction. While movies and TV shows would like us to believe that people with addiction are always abusing street drugs, millions of Americans are addicted to the legalized medications they’ve been prescribed by their doctors. Our team has worked with countless patients who have become addicted to prescription drugs, including painkillers and depressants. Whether you’re addicted to Valium, Adderall, Xanax, or something else, you can trust our team to treat you with respect and without judgment during your time with us. While the laws, fines, and punishments vary state by state, North Carolina prescription drug crimes include doctor shopping. Individuals who get caught visiting multiple doctors for extra prescriptions may be charged with prescription drug fraud, a felony offense.

In addition, more than 20 individual states have enacted their own laws related to this issue. These laws typically prohibit patients from knowingly withholding important information from their practitioners about controlled substances and prescriptions they have obtained from other healthcare providers. With the opioid epidemic in America reaching unprecedented levels, people desperate for prescription painkillers have resorted to a number of methods for securing drugs beyond treatment parameters.

We will explain exactly how our detox and outpatients’ programs work and help you determine the best road of action for you as an individual. A study published in the National Institute of Health explains that not all doctor shopping is driven by illicit drug-seeking motivations. For instance, some patients may visit multiple doctors due to personal illness factors, long wait times, office hours or location, and specific clinician factors. Some individuals may begin taking a prescription as suggested per their doctor and the label, but later become addicted.