Reduce Criminal Diversion of Prescription Drugs

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Brief Description

Introductory Paragraph

"Drug diversion is the illegal distribution or abuse of prescription drugs or their use for purposes not intended by the prescriber."    Physician play a key role with prescription drug diversion. 

Key Information

According to Health and Human Services the most common types of drug diversion include:

• Selling prescription drugs;
• Doctor shopping;
• Illegal Internet pharmacies;
• Drug theft;
• Prescription pad theft and forgery; and
• Illicit prescribing.

Physicians are in the forefront of managing chronic pain for their patients and it is estimated that this may affect 15 percent to 30 percent of the general population of the United States – as many as 70 million individuals.
 

The potential for misuse of opioids and other medications used to treat pain by patients suffering from chronic ongoing pain is high.  Patients may abuse their own medication and may divert by obtaining medications under false pretenses or by reselling medications prescribed to them.  The American Academy of Family Physicians provides tips on recognizing signs of diversion.  

Signs of Diversion include:

Strange stories. Be wary of new patients with stories that don’t seem quite right. Diverters often claim to be traveling through town on business or visiting relatives. Occasionally, they’ll pose as government officials or pharmaceutical company representatives. They may be excessively complimentary about the office facilities or your appearance or medical reputation in the community. They may deliberately request appointments toward the end of the day or may show up just after regular office hours. One common ploy diverters use is to ask to be seen immediately or to be given a prescription right away because they have to “catch a plane” or “get to an important appointment.” They may claim that they have lost a paper prescription, forgotten to pack their medication or had their medication stolen.

Reluctance to cooperate. Diverters often refuse a physical exam and are unwilling to give permission to access past medical records or allow contact with previous providers. If pressed, they may claim they cannot precisely remember where they were last treated or that the previous clinic, hospital or provider has gone out of business. In many cases, these patients leave the office suddenly if things are not going their way.

Unusually high (or low) understanding of medications. Be alert when patients appear to be extremely well-informed about specific medications. While it is true that people who have been sick for a long time often learn much about their disease process and know the medications that work best for them, this is also true of diverters. They often appear to have a familiarity with diseases that comes straight from textbooks rather than real life. Some diverters may feign naiveté by deliberately mispronouncing medication names or seeming to be uninformed about their underlying medical condition.

Strange symptoms. Diverters may exaggerate or feign symptoms. Certain complaints are typical, such as back pain, kidney stones, migraine headaches, toothaches or post-herpetic neuralgia. Some diverters may even attempt to alter urine samples by pricking a finger and putting a drop of blood in the specimen to corroborate their story of renal colic.

Specific drug requests. Because many diverters are very knowledgeable about controlled substances, they may request specific medication brands and resist any of your attempts to prescribe generic forms and substitutes, stating that they are “allergic” or that a particular alternative has never provided relief for them in the past.

Relevant Research

In this section, please capture any recent findings, reports, or data on the topic. Please also highlight any gaps or existing disparities. Please include references and links to the information so that we may add a footnote for the reader to find further information. Do we have any available research about discriminatory practices? Is there information about the value of access to educational opportunities?

Impactful Federal, State, and Local Policies

Diverson of Prescription Drugs- Drug Policy Facts

Available Tools and Resources

Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration Resources and office of Diversion control

Health and Human Services Drug Diversion & Prescribers role fact sheet

Promising Practices

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