Doctor Shopping for Medication and 10 Ways It Can Be Minimized

The difficulty in writing this article is admitting I doctor shopped a couple of times several years ago when my migraine medication was not actively doing its job. I used more of the medication to keep the pain at bay and before I knew it-I was like many Americans---in physical need of the drugs and in search for them.

I read an article recently that would cut down on doctor shopping and allow physicians to monitor how a patient's body reacts to medication from afar. The solution sounds very high tech and may be scary for those of us who do not know much about science.

The process involves ingesting pills that contain both a microchip and medication. The patient wears a bandage that sends information such as heart rate, amount of sleep, temperature, and other important factors to his or her doctor. If the person comes in close range of a cell phone, data is sent to Proteus Biomedical where it is processed and sent back to an email or cell phone account.

If all pills contain this microchip along with the medication, it might cut down on the number of genuine medicinal pills that often become street drugs. A patient who is addicted to a prescription medication would be known by her doctors if she took these pills from more than one source.

There needs to be refusal in regard to pharmacies filling medications that relate to the same thing (example pain and anxiety) more than one time a month. I realize this has changed some since I used several doctors for pain medication but it is by no means good enough.

The problem with doctor shopping is multiple ways exist in which the user can get his or her fix. The most recent celebrity death who was known to use doctor shopping is Corey Haim. Apparently he was involved in a group that stole prescription medical pads and wrote him prescriptions for many pills. People who are in an elite status such as celebrities will be more difficult to stop than the average housewife who is over her head with pain and how to prevent it.

So, how do we prevent doctor shopping? Here are my ideas and some I have read about online as well.

1) Physicians need to keep their minds open that someone experiencing severe pain may actually be doing so. If pain control isn't kept reasonable, patients are more apt to begin one dose of one more pill than normal and the cycle escalates.

2) Pharmacies, especially those in the same town, need to keep better records of what pills they do dispense and share with other pharmacies. If someone is suspect for "doctor shopping" contact their doctor.

3) Doctors need to be very clear in conveying to the patient that even one additional pill is walking in dangerous territory when it comes to narcotics and other specific drugs.

4) It has been said people who are addicted will find the way to their drug regardless. A fatalistic approach is not the one to take. Many people who become addicted to prescription drugs do not realize it in the beginning and become addicted almost by accident.

5) Require those who come for prescription drug refills to have some form of identification. This identification would reveal the person for who they truly are rather than an alias they claim. Many pharmacies already have this requirement-others need it.

6) Perhaps the vilest aspect of prescription drugs abuse is that many addicts have clear access to their drug of choice via the Internet if they pay a little money. Supposedly doctors review cases and prescribe based on those cases but no doctor online can know your full history. Ordering pills online needs to stop or require a prescription from the patient's primary care doctor.

7) I truly believe once the stigma of drug use lessens, more people will come forward to admit their problem and cease doctor shopping. In my case, it took a realization that my husband would leave me and I would not have my children. The bottom point is different for each person but for most the stigma attached to any type of drug use causes them to neglect receiving help.

8) State laws should require doctors to look at patients' drug histories. The problem of using aliases and obtaining drugs in nearby states may be curbed if there is a central repository and they look at these. Doctors are over worked and sometimes do not have time to check what they need to know. We pay them for care and they need to take the extra time to look.

9) Doctors have placed several tests to identify those at high risk for drugs misuse by doing prescription drug screening. Also, some doctors require urine tests to see if medication compliance correlates to what they have been given. Doctors have not been ignoring the problem of doctor-shopping but are not doing everything they can to stop it.

10) One problem doctor-shopping drug addicts create for some of us is the inability to receive adequate pain control when we need it. People who use drugs and go through the trouble of doctor shopping to get them are on a collision course with death. These people also make it more difficult for patients who truly need the medication in feeling they receive the third degree about pain control when they simply need help with chronic pain. If doctor shopping is suspected, confront the patient. Allow them a path to rehabilitation in an attempt to stop their behaviors. Note their problem in their charts. Doctors can do a lot to reduce doctor shopping but not all. The ultimate responsibility relies on the individual.

If coping skills are taught to deal with moderate pain and not rely on medication for pain, many cases of pain control may not be needed. Many people believe pain pills should take away all pain and do not realize a certain amount has to be lived with. As with everything else, education is the key to people understanding this fact.