It's for YOU.
Medications are dangerous. Medications treat specific conditions. You are NOT a doctor, and it is NOT up to you (or appropriate) to diagnose the condition of another person.
Too many people give some or all of their medication to another person, usually their spouse. Some are sneaky about it, others are quite open about it. I've even worked with pharmacists that suggest it to patients like it is their place to do that. It's not.
I've even had people call me up at the pharmacy and tell me their spouse's or child's condition and then say, "How should I dose this _____ medication I have here? I can use that to treat this condition, right?"
I don't answer questions like that. There's a million things that could go wrong and patient safety is THE most important aspect of our job.
So if you're a patient that is giving YOUR medication to a spouse, child, or whoever, STOP. You're not a medical professional. What if the person you're giving it to has an allergy to the medication? You could risk their life while you're "playing doctor." Just don't do it.
If you're a pharmacist that's suggesting to patients that they give their medication to another person, STOP. You know better. I'm sure your drug knowledge is top notch and your advice might be accurate, but it is not your place. Just don't do it.
But I have Boy Scout First Aid training and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once so doesn't that make me an expert in medical conditions and medication???
ReplyDeleteI see this all the time in provider notes:
ReplyDeletePatient says shoulder pain is getting worse, he's been taking his wife's percs and that seems to work. Would like his own prescription.
What the holy heck. Is there a place to report these people?
I would disagree with your statement that I'm not a "medical professional "as a pharmacist. We are medical professionals. As we are medical professionals the advice to not share medications is very important. Thanks for sharing your post.
ReplyDeleteHe was referring to the patient when he said "You're not a medical professional" :)
ReplyDeleteI have been taking pain killers for many years for a non healing fracture. My husband went to his doctor with dislocated shoulder and gave him an rx for Norco. We brought it to our regular pharmacist and he looked at the script turned to me wnd said,"you don't need to fill this, you should have a ton of these at home!" And he didn't fill it. We went to another place and filled it. Do pharmacies do this often?
ReplyDeleteI told this to a co worker the other day when she was giving out her prescription painkiller to another co worker. "You know that is illegal?" She had no idea. She wasn't upset at me-no one had told her. She is 58.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on dexedrine and my mom "borrowed" a dose of the one I took and I remember her just being a loud, irritable, clean freak. I woke up at 4:30 am and she was outside landscaping and bug eyed and she was a big woman and said she took 1/3 of what I take but she was sculpting the bushes with sweat pouring down her bug eyed, chain smoking face.
ReplyDeleteShe ended up getting these blue diet pulls which I now know are the Obetrol which was re-branded as Adderall for a few months and she was taken off and wailed for days like she was dying.
What if my Dr. gave me two scripts of adderall by accident. Can I try to get the second one filled at a different chain of stores/mom and pop pharmacy? I know this is wrong... I just want to know, as a pharmacist what is your process? Is there a list you can check to see if I have recently filled any adderall? Would my Dr. find out? I will likely not do this but I am curious.
ReplyDeleteMost prescribers and pharmacies have a program for listing when and where all controlled substances were filled. It also lists how many, the day supply, and which prescriber wrote the prescription. This data is submitted by the pharmacies to the database and the information is obtained whether or not you use insurance.
ReplyDeleteSharing medications is more common in older generation. It is dangerous. I believe the big problem is now antibiotics resistance. It is absolutely not a good idea to share antibiotic meds with others.
ReplyDeleteAntibiotics are well regulated in the US because patients are required to see their primary care providers for a prescription in order to obtain the medication. However, in other countries, antibiotics are available without a prescription. Many other prescription meds are readily available in a drug store so the consumers just come and pick them up easily.
Just F.Y.I...
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't fault you on the labeling of drugs which have been prescribed (by an authorized practitioner) for a specific disease process (from 'simple' analgesics with a narcotic for PRN treatment of pain to antibiotics for use in an infectious process to beta blockers for control of hypertension, etc.), indeed when your prescriber writes a script for a medication for you, it is always meant for you the patient only. However, as pharmacy is a technical science to practice, I feel the need to point out that the statement you cite:
"Caution: Federal law prohibits the transfer of this drug to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed." - See 21 CFR 290.5
as being present on any bottle of medication dispensed on Rx authority, in reality, the statement is only required for prescription drugs which are in schedules II, III, or IV (2, 3, 4) of the CSA. So prescriptions for drugs which are not controlled substances, or are only present in schedule V of the CSA are not required to bear this warning. This doesn't change the fact that your prescriber always intends the medication prescribed to be used by you the patient and only for the condition and duration allotted on the label. Most pharmacies have this warning statement pre-printed on their standard labels so that no Rx risks getting out the door without the necessary warning, but technically, it only applies to a those Rx drugs which are also schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances.
Just F.Y.I...
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't fault you on the labeling of drugs which have been prescribed (by an authorized practitioner) for a specific disease process (from 'simple' analgesics with a narcotic for PRN treatment of pain to antibiotics for use in an infectious process to beta blockers for control of hypertension, etc.), indeed when your prescriber writes a script for a medication for you, it is always meant for you the patient only. However, as pharmacy is a technical science to practice, I feel the need to point out that the statement you cite:
"Caution: Federal law prohibits the transfer of this drug to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed." - See 21 CFR 290.5
as being present on any bottle of medication dispensed on Rx authority, in reality, the statement is only required for prescription drugs which are in schedules II, III, or IV (2, 3, 4) of the CSA. So prescriptions for drugs which are not controlled substances, or are only present in schedule V of the CSA are not required to bear this warning. This doesn't change the fact that your prescriber always intends the medication prescribed to be used by you the patient and only for the condition and duration allotted on the label. Most pharmacies have this warning statement pre-printed on their standard labels so that no Rx risks getting out the door without the necessary warning, but technically, it only applies to a those Rx drugs which are also schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances.