How to Reduce the Theft of Prescription Pads
Stealing a prescription pad is one way someone can abuse prescription medications. Prescription-pad fraud is accomplished by forging a physician's name on a prescription written by the thief or by altering authentic doctor-order prescriptions. Knowing how such thieves operate can help you protect yourself from them.
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Things You'll Need
- Tamper-proof prescription pad Copy machine Locked drawer or vault Safety papers for prescription pads Safety inks for printed prescription pads Surveillance system Electronic means to transmit prescriptions
Instructions
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Consider the costs of not protecting yourself from prescription-pad theft. They include Medicaid rejections; local, state or federal penalties; negative publicity; unwillingness of pharmacists to fill unconfirmed and authentic prescriptions; and the death or injury of a patient.
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Develop a method for tracking the prescriptions written by your office or clinic. Record the name of the patient to whom the prescription was given; the drug that was prescribed; the number of tablets prescribed; and the dosage amounts. Periodically check those records against those of area pharmacists to identify irregularities. Prescription pads can be altered by adding something, taking something out or changing the prescription as originally written.
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Inform patients of the consequences of using forged prescriptions. Warn what steps you and the pharmacist would take in such a case and what penalties the person would face under local, state and federal laws.
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Limit the number of medical personnel in the office or clinic who can write prescriptions. Require that all prescriptions also be approved by the physician in charge.
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Keep prescription pads in a locked drawer or vault in a room apart from the rooms where patients are examined or treated. When patients cannot obtain prescription pads easily, it deters many from trying to do so.
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Use safety papers and inks for prescription pads. This will negate some forgeries or alterations to the prescription.
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Use only "tamper-proof" prescription pads, which are nearly impossible to trace, copy or otherwise mimic. These pads are difficult to reproduce and any attempt to change the prescription is easy to detect. "Laid lines" on a prescription pad make it hard for a thief to cut and paste prescriptions. New coats and laminates provide a protective seal over the prescription to make altering it virtually impossible.
Borders and fillers on prescription pads make it more difficult to change the prescription. -
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Use an electronic system like bar-coding to confirm the number of tablets ordered. This will keep thieves from increasing the prescribed number of pills.
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Install a surveillance system in any area where prescription pads are stored. This will ward off some potential thieves and help you capture others.
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Refuse to call in prescriptions unless they are backed up with written prescriptions that must be provided by the patient at the time of pickup. Most pharmacists welcome this extra step because it reduces their liability in cases of medication theft. When a patient knows you called in a particular drug, tablet amount and dosage, he is less inclined to alter the prescription before presenting it to the pharmacy.
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Prescribe only to patients you know or can verify by proper identification. Many prescription-pad thieves assume false identities.
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Prescribe drugs electronically straight from your office or clinic to the pharmacist. While it isn't impossible for such prescriptions to be duplicated, it is much harder than with paper prescriptions.
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Tips & Warnings
Research state laws with regard to prescription theft to learn your options for prosecution.
Many doctors and other medical professionals, including pharmacists, are unaware of how large a problem prescription pad theft is. Don't make copies of prescriptions since they could be used to gain access to unauthorized drugs.
