# Do pharmacies verify every narcotic script with the prescribing Doctor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2006, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623 "2006-11-24T06:16:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/41 "2006-11-27T23:11:47Z")
[QUOTE=RSSchen] What I don’t understand though, and I’d be interested in other’s experiences - is why I got wired off the hydro? Just about everyone else who’s had an opinion has told me that the med made them drowsy. Not me. It made me go-go-go. I liked that, a lot. Now I’m wondering if there are any legitimate vitamins or supplements that will provide just a hint of energy for me. I’ve two small kids and want to be involved with them, right now I don’t know if I can do it. Any thoughts? [/QUOTE] You may want to consider ibogaine treatment as well. There is ample documentation about its effectiveness in interrupting narcotic addiction without withdrawal symptoms within a matter of hours. Americans are unfortunate because it’s not legal in the US; however if you’re in Canada you’re in luck because there’s a very good treatment center there. There are actually centers all over the world, of varying quality. It can be a bit pricey though. If you like, feel free to email me with inquiries about the nature of the treatment, and where you can seek it legally (outside the US only). I’m not a provider nor affiliated with one, but I do know quite a bit about this subject. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/42 "2006-11-27T23:15:26Z")
Getting off of opiates is hard. Staying off of them is much harder, for many folks. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/43 "2006-11-27T23:21:02Z")
[QUOTE=Zakalwe] Just a quick hijack to say how unbelievably impressed I am with QtM’s honesty and willingness to use his own experiences as a force for good. [/QUOTE] One must share one’s experience, strength, and hope if one is to remain sober. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/44 "2006-11-28T07:46:11Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] I have detoxed off painkillers three times. Every single time it was extremely uncomfortable, **but not deadly**. [/QUOTE] I’m going to have to throw the bullshit flag on tihs one… ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/45 "2006-11-28T12:30:07Z")
[QUOTE=Pygmy Rugger] I’m going to have to throw the bullshit flag on tihs one… [/QUOTE] You think he did, in fact, die from the withdrawal? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/46 "2006-11-28T13:17:56Z")
[QUOTE=Billdo] You think he did, in fact, die from the withdrawal? [/QUOTE] I’ll take a wild guess and say the doubt was over some nature of the detox, not the actual death of the alleged poster. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/47 "2006-11-28T13:46:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] Are addicts really goofy enough to take the 5 scrips by 5 different doctors in to the same pharmacist in the same month? I’m in a mid-sized city and I probably have at least a half-dozen non-related pharmacy chains within a 10 mile drive. Oh well. I was born paranoid, but still, I can’t imagine people being THAT goofy. [/QUOTE] Sometimes pharmacists also talk to each other. I don’t know what it would be like in a large city, but in the small town I grew up in, the pharmacies were always borrowing things from each other – say a patient came in for an ointment that you’d just run out of. The pharmacist told a trusty tech (that would be me) to call around and see if anyone else had some. If so, I’d zip over there to pick it up, and make the customer happy. When the order came in restocking us, I’d return it. Information got passed back and forth in the same way. If someone seemed to be getting too many control prescriptions, or pushing the envelope a little, the pharmacists would call back and forth to see if the patient was pharmacy-hopping. I’m sure some stuff still got through, but there were a fair amount of people that got very gentle “I’m sorry. You just filled a prescription for this last week at XXX down the road” answers. Small town pharmacists also tend to know, to a certain extent, what’s going on in their patient’s lives. If you’ve heard from an upset customer earlier in the week that Auntie Greta’s cancer has progressed and they’ve called hospice, you’re unlikely to wonder why Auntie Greta’s husband is bringing in a morphine scrip for her. I’m sure this helps sort the sheep from the goats. > [@David Simmons](#): > > Can’t they though. My wife worked in a one man pharmacy years ago. The was a woman who came in every day for a bottle of codeine-turpenhydrate (sp?) cough medicine. By law, one a day was the limit. A prescriction wasn’t needed but you had to sign a register to make sure one a day was all you were getting. The pharmacist discovered that she was also getting a bottle from the other pharmacy in town and refused to sell her any more. We had a guy come in and buy a bottle, go out, and come back in five minutes later with the empty, cracked bottle. He said that he dropped it in the parking lot. The pharmacist asked why then, there was no syrup on the bag he was carrying it in. “Oh,” said he. “Whoops.” and slunk away, no doubt to another pharmacy where he perfected the routine. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/48 "2006-11-28T15:31:47Z")
[QUOTE=Pygmy Rugger] I’m going to have to throw the bullshit flag on tihs one… [/QUOTE] Sorry, I meant to say “but not life threatening”. I was in a hurry. I love how you guys have everything I say under a microscope around here. ha. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/49 "2006-11-28T15:42:47Z")
[QUOTE=Brain Wreck] I’ll take a wild guess and say the doubt was over some nature of the detox, not the actual death of the alleged poster. [/QUOTE] I’m going to take a wilder guess and say that since he actually BOLDED the “deadly” part, he was just cracking a joke. Good thread. I come from a family of pharmacists, and like others have said, they’re just not pill dispensers doing a doctor’s bidding. Also, don’t you people who take a lot of these opiates get the crazy dreams? I had knee surgery once, and was prescribed Oxycodone. I was taking it with beers which was nice. I kept a pretty nice buzz going for a couple days, but then the DREAMS started. I had the freakiest, craziest, scariest, mind altering dreams. I still get chills thinking about them and that was years ago. I was still in an incredible amount of pain, but I said “fuck this” and just started hitting the aspirin. It didn’t help, but at least the dreams went away. Also, a little marijuana was better than any of it. What a drug. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/50 "2006-11-28T17:23:34Z")
[QUOTE=StuffLikeThatThere] Sometimes pharmacists also talk to each other. SNIP [/QUOTE] Anyone know if what he just described would run afoul of HIPAA? ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/51 "2006-11-28T17:37:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] Anyone know if what he just described would run afoul of HIPAA? [/QUOTE] From the [DHS HIPAA FAQ Site:](http://healthprivacy.answers.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/hipaa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=271&p_created=1040317879&p_sid=jUzPPOni&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTI0MyZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9NyZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PTEuNyZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0y&p_li=&p_topview=1) > [@](#): > > Question > Does a physician need a patient’s written authorization to send a copy of the patient’s medical record to a specialist or other health care provider who will treat the patient? > > Answer > No. The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits a health care provider to disclose protected health information about an individual, without the individual’s authorization, to another health care provider for that provider’s treatment of the individual. See 45 CFR 164.506 and the definition of “treatment” at 45 CFR 164.501. That’s the best I could find right now, as long as the patient is filling prescriptions at both pharmacies then my interpretation would be that they are both entitled to that information. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/52 "2006-11-28T20:43:59Z")
[QUOTE=SusanStoHelit] SNIP as long as the patient is filling prescriptions at both pharmacies then my interpretation would be that they are both entitled to that information. [/QUOTE] Hmmm. And I suppose the pharmacist could lawfully find that his patient fills scrips at both pharmacies by… consulting insurance information? ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/53 "2006-11-28T21:15:25Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] Hmmm. And I suppose the pharmacist could lawfully find that his patient fills scrips at both pharmacies by… consulting insurance information? [/QUOTE] When I worked in a pharmacy (1999-2002) we used to get faxes from other pharmacies saying “so-and-so is a drug seeker - don’t fill”. I don’t think that’s ok anymore but one pharmacist could still call another to ask if they have filled for a patient, and then ask for the fill information. Believe it or not, there is a [considerable amount of discretion](http://healthprivacy.answers.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/hipaa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=207&p_created=1040314820&p_sid=9c2yCPni&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTE0JnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz03LDI3JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9Mi4yNyZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1) allowed to providers: > [@](#): > > The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires a covered entity to make reasonable efforts to limit use, disclosure of, and requests for protected health information to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose. To allow covered entities the flexibility to address their unique circumstances, the Rule requires covered entities to make their own assessment of what protected health information is reasonably necessary for a particular purpose, given the characteristics of their business and workforce, and to implement policies and procedures accordingly. This is not an absolute standard and covered entities need not limit information uses or disclosures to those that are absolutely needed to serve the purpose. Rather, this is a reasonableness standard that calls for an approach consistent with the best practices and guidelines already used by many providers and plans today to limit the unnecessary sharing of medical information. > > The minimum necessary standard requires covered entities to evaluate their practices and enhance protections as needed to limit unnecessary or inappropriate access to protected health information. It is intended to reflect and be consistent with, not override, professional judgment and standards. Therefore, it is expected that covered entities will utilize the input of prudent professionals involved in health care activities when developing policies and procedures that appropriately limit access to personal health information without sacrificing the quality of health care. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/54 "2006-11-28T21:18:12Z")
I also wanted to note that the pharmacist can also legally call the insurance company and/or the doctor. At my current place of employment (a Medicaid HMO) we will often put a patient on a contract so that we will only pay for prescriptions written by a certain dr or filled by a certain pharmacy, or both. However, if a patient is smart and paying cash (since generic Vicodin is one of the cheapest drugs you can get) then the only way to find that out is to call other pharmacies. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/55 "2006-11-28T21:56:05Z")
[QUOTE=RSSchen] What I don’t understand though, and I’d be interested in other’s experiences - is why I got wired off the hydro? Just about everyone else who’s had an opinion has told me that the med made them drowsy. Not me. It made me go-go-go. I liked that, a lot. Now I’m wondering if there are any legitimate vitamins or supplements that will provide just a hint of energy for me. I’ve two small kids and want to be involved with them, right now I don’t know if I can do it. Any thoughts? [/QUOTE] I’ve been off hydrocodone for over 5 years now, after being addicted for 3 years (8-10 pills a day). When I first started taking them, they made me drowsy. After awhile I had the experience you had. I couldn’t wake up in the morning without my pill. They made me a whirlwind at work and at home. You CAN do it! It’s only been a short time for you. I’m a much better Mom now than I was then. Even though at the time I tried to convince myself otherwise. Keep with it, it gets better every day. Send me an email if you ever need to talk. Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/56 "2006-11-28T23:01:34Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] Anyone know if what he just described would run afoul of HIPAA? [/QUOTE] He is a she, but not offended. I didn’t think about HIPAA, not being in the medical industry anymore and having it in front of me all the time. To protect the reputations of the pharmacists I worked with, the stuff I speak of did occur in the dark ages before HIPAA. ---
**Author:** ![consciousness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@consciousness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/consciousness)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/57 "2013-04-26T08:49:25Z")
Patients should NEVER be arrested if there is evidence their diagnoses. Even is the patient gets addicted!! pharmaceutical companies should pay for the best rehabs, because its the pharmaceutical companies fault … Especially if the patient started taking the drug in the mid nineties because pharmaceutical companies swore the drugs were safe and not addicting ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/58 "2013-04-26T13:16:32Z")
> [@consciousness](#): > > the mid nineties That’s about when this thread was started. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/59 "2013-04-26T17:31:06Z")
> [@diggleblop](#): > > Also, I’ve always wondered why Pharmacists felt it was up to _them_ who decides who is or who isn’t a drug addict? Isn’t that none of their business? It is totally our business! We are allowed to refuse to fill any prescription, for any reason, not just narcotics. This has gotten people in big trouble when they did that with birth control, which is a discussion for another day, but pharmacists have lost their licenses for filling prescriptions they shouldn’t have. I did fill a few forged prescriptions in my day - everyone eventually does - but it was one that I didn’t recognize as a forgery, and I certainly wasn’t in cahoots with him or the doctor. We can usually tell by who the patient is, their profile, and who wrote the prescription whether it’s legitimate. There’s a pain clinic in this city that is legitimate, and we know that if we see one from them, the patient needs it. For one thing, they also use lots of non-narcotic therapy so we know they’re for real. But “pill mills” are a huge problem in many areas. I had a classmate who died from ODing on stolen drugs. ☹ Looking back, I wonder if he became a pharmacist so he could get his hands on drugs; IDK. Sure hope not, and there are definitely easier ways to get them. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623/60 "2013-04-26T17:35:50Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It is illegal for pharmacists and doctors to dispense opiate narcotics to maintain an addiction. There are a few exceptions to that - methadone, ORLAAM, and Suboxone are the main ones that come to mind - but they have to be from approved physicians. You can’t just go to your friendly neighborhood doctor and get these. Well, actually, any doctor who can write for narcotics can write for methadone, but only for pain control. As for addiction, people who use these drugs legitimately rarely become addicted. Dependent? Yes. And what’s the difference? If you are addicted to drugs, your quality of life goes down. If you are dependent on drugs, your quality of life goes up. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pharmacies-verify-every-narcotic-script-with-the-prescribing-doctor/381623.md?page=4)