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Filling Prescriptions Under False Names

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The issue of writing prescriptions using an alias has entered the spotlight following the overdose death of acclaimed musician Prince last year. A doctor allegedly wrote prescriptions using a different name to safeguard Prince’s identity. This unfortunately is a more common practice than one might suspect, and pharmacists must be wary.

I first encountered this type of situation while in charge of the pharmaceutical unit at the Cincinnati Police Department in the 1990s. It was on a local level, so the so-called celebrity would have been unknown to anyone outside our area but was considered an icon locally. We served a search warrant on the pharmacy for a variety of potential criminal offenses and, in searching the pharmacy, discovered a ledger that detailed the filling of prescriptions for this local celebrity under a false name and address. [Read more…]

INNOVATIVE NEW JERSEY COMPANY PATENTS “TALKING PILLS” AS A SOLUTION TO THE OPIOID EPIDMIC

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The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 30, 2017 issued a patent on a potential breakthrough solution to the opioid epidemic. The patent is for both a drug delivery and abuse deterrence device that will be submitted to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing clearance.

The FDA is very experienced when it comes to intelligent pill technologies, but not until the newly patented “Smart Pill Drug Delivery Device” was presented to the agency did they see a solution with potential to solve primary challenges with opioids. The FDA wants “smart pill” technology for opiates to be produced and submitted so it can be efficiently reviewed through every relevant FDA division. To that end, the FDA, in a pre-IND / pre-IDE meeting, provided Pop Test (PT) Abuse Deterrent Technologies with a roadmap of guidances to get there.  www.SmartPillsSaveLives.com

The Smart Pill Drug Delivery Device prevents overdoses on prescription opioids. It also prevents the ability to counterfeit opioids.  Finally, it prevents the ability to divert pills from their prescribed user to others. The “Smart Pills” communicate with each other and they “talk” to the dispensing pharmacist and sometimes to law enforcement, too. The Smart Pills know the prescribed dosage for a patient, and if exceeded, the Smart Pills warn each other to not open their capsule to release medicinal contents, and this action thereby prevents an overdose.   [Read more…]

Drug thefts turn up big in state report on abuse and neglect of vulnerable Minnesotans

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Drug theft by health care workers has become so common that it accounts for nearly one-fifth of all abuse cases affecting elderly Minnesotans, the state Department of Health reported Monday.

In a sign of growing concern over the abuse of prescription drugs, state officials began a separate count of “drug diversion” incidents for the first time in their latest report on neglect and exploitation of vulnerable Minnesotans.

State investigators examined 192 allegations of drug theft during the 12 months ending in June 2014; they substantiated 27 cases perpetrated by 14 health care workers. [Read more…]

Hydrocodone Prescribing Sees Steep Decline

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In October 2014, hydrocodone combinations were rescheduled as Class II (CII) controlled substances. There had been years of debate and work to reschedule the drug, which in its pure form had always been scheduled as CII; however, in its typical retail form, in combination with acetaminophen and other drugs, it had maintained its CIII status for decades.

Hydrocodone combinations have historically been the most prescribed prescription drugs and were widely used to manage acute pain and, in some cases, breakthrough pain for chronic pain sufferers. By sheer volume, this made hydrocodone combination products the most abused prescription drugs in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office of Diversion Control, with support from some law enforcement, made many attempts to reschedule the drug as CII, but kept failing. That changed in October 2014, but not everybody applauded the rescheduling. [Read more…]

Drug Diversion in Healthcare Facilities

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Those of you who have followed this column over the years know that I have a special interest in the diversion of controlled substances within healthcare facilities. It started back in 1990 when I formed the Cincinnati Police Department’s Pharmaceutical Diversion Squad. We quickly learned that in addition to doctor shoppers, bad prescriptions, and other scams, a real problem existed in our hospitals and long term care nursing facilities with drug diversion. [Read more…]

How BIG is the problem?

Year after year, state and local law enforcement statistics indicate that pharmaceuticals are almost 30% of the overall drug problem in the United States, running a close second only marijuana abuse. However, until recently, law enforcement, health care professionals, and the general public have placed little emphasis on this huge problem.

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Pharmaceutical Diversion Education (PDE) is designed to assist a wide range of the population in understanding the potential abuse and addiction that can be associated with prescription medication.

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