self-prescribing doctors

[Jonno1288]

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If a doctor came in with a prescription he'd written himself for a substance you thought he was abusing , what would you do?

Personally, I've heard that it's illegal for Doctors to write prescriptions for themselves as well as their family members. Is this true?

 

[J Lucas]

If a doctor came in with a prescription he'd written himself for a substance you thought he was abusing , what would you do?

Personally, I've heard that it's illegal for Doctors to write prescriptions for themselves as well as their family members. Is this true?

Tell him you will only give it to him if he shares..

 

[RexKD]

This question was asked by me on the General Residency forum.

Doctors can prescribe for themselves or anyone else. Some insurance companies won't reimburse for self-prescriptions, but some will. People said it may not be a good idea to self-prescribe, but it's certainly not illegal.

 

[Jonno1288]

Oh ok. Well, that certainly clears things up. Thanks!

 

[RexKD]

But I think a pharmacist is obligated not to supply medications for someone he thinks is abusing them.

What leads you to believe he's abusing them?

Is he prescribing 100 tabs of vicodin a day?

 

[GravyRPH]

This is a slippery slope and to say it is not illegal is not totally true. Of course, it depends what state you are in, but most have the requirement that a good faith examination and records on any patient must be kept. Therefore, you would need to have charting and documentation for any prescription you prescribed for yourself and a family member. If any state board or DEA were to investigate you for anything, they would definitely find problems with self examination.

Most pharmacies strictly refuse to fill any self prescribed controls for physicians or their family members. If it is a narcotic, good luck finding someone to fill it.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

In WV it's illegal to prescribe a CII to yourself, I'm not sure about CIII+, though.

 

[ultracet]

would not fill it..

the md would have to actually go to another md for me to fill it....

 

[Samoa]

My policy (wherever I happen to be working) is that I don't fill self-prescribed narcotics. I'll fill anything else, though.

 

[kwakster928]

My policy (wherever I happen to be working) is that I don't fill self-prescribed narcotics. I'll fill anything else, though.

same here. but what if that person writes viagra 30 tabs w/ 60 refills. hehehe. i will probably laugh and give him some. dont know about the 60 refills though. hehehe

 

[OoShimmeroO]

same here. but what if that person writes viagra 30 tabs w/ 60 refills. hehehe. i will probably laugh and give him some. dont know about the 60 refills though. hehehe

I don't see a problem with 60 refills since prescriptions expire within a year no matter how many refills one has.

 

[RexKD]

I don't see a problem with 60 refills since prescriptions expire within a year no matter how many refills one has.

All prescriptions expire within a year? Is this standard throughout the United States? I remember having some prescriptions filled after 3 years.. Nothing exotic, just a nasal spray for allergies.. At least 3 years..

 

[njac]

All prescriptions expire within a year? Is this standard throughout the United States? I remember having some prescriptions filled after 3 years.. Nothing exotic, just a nasal spray for allergies.. At least 3 years..

the pharmacist has probably called your doctor to get another year's script.

I know they've done that for me for BC and other meds that you're on continuously.

 

[emogrrrrl]

Smooth way to figure out how to approach this ethical question you might get at your UT interview 😉
I actually had this question in my interview- I wouldn't fill a script for a drug such as valium that a physcian wrote for him/herself. If they want a script filled for something of that nature they're going to have their primary physician write a script for it.

 

[kwakster928]

I don't see a problem with 60 refills since prescriptions expire within a year no matter how many refills one has.

what if this guy is very very active and needs that another tab with in a year? hehe. let see that's what, 30 X 60 refills so 1800 tabs. wow now that's a lot. that's like close to 5 uses of that viagra a day. can this be done? hahahahaha

 

[baggywrinkle]

This question was asked by me on the General Residency forum.

Doctors can prescribe for themselves or anyone else. Some insurance companies won't reimburse for self-prescriptions, but some will. People said it may not be a good idea to self-prescribe, but it's certainly not illegal.

The pharmacist is charged with insuring that a prescription is being dispensed for a legitimate medical purpose. For this reason, controlled substances for ones self or even family members, while not illegal, does bring up the issue of conflict of interests and professional conduct. It flirts dangerously close to that minefield known as "moral turptitude". The last thing any pharmacist or physician would like to do is be forced to defend a prescription in front of an inquisitive inspector or worse, in front of the board.

Ever hear of an "administrative emergency action"? That is one step above working in a soup kitchen.