Techniques for Aquiring Drugs

It is also important for oral health care professionals to be aware of the techniques addicts often used to obtain substances. Some of the more common are:

• Telephone requests for analgesics
• Complaints of anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, or depression, followed by requests for stimulants or depressants
• Requests for premature refills for "stolen" or "lost" medication, or medication left at home while on vacation
• Consistent failure to keep appointments, or refusal of treatment or lab work despite drug requests
• Pressure, including the use of guilt, sympathy, or the threat of harm
• Requests for specific controlled substances or drugs that are inappropriate for the individual's problem or procedure
• Claims of being allergic to all drugs except certain controlled substances
• Requests from elderly patients who, through confusion or deliberate effort, obtain multiple prescriptions for the same drug, or who are taking conflicting medications
• Requests for extra medication from patients claiming to be going on vacation or a business trip
• Visits to several different physicians for the same reasons
• Theft of prescription pads