Those accused of drug crimes often get caught in possession of illegal drugs. However, there are also numerous prescription medications that people may abuse unlawfully. The state actively watches for warning signs of people abusing or diverting prescription medication. State authorities may prosecute those who distribute medication to others or attempt to access it inappropriately.
One of the behaviors associated with prescription drug crimes is doctor shopping. People may find the term confusing and may not understand the nature of the accusations they’re facing.
What is doctor shopping?
Doctor shopping is an attempt to obtain specific medication by seeing more than one doctor and lying about current treatment plans or prescriptions. Historically, there have been cases where one person sees multiple doctors at different offices or even in different counties to obtain multiple prescriptions for the same controlled substance. They can then abuse the medication or distribute it to others.
The state has implemented a new prescription drug tracking system to prevent this kind of misconduct. Physicians and pharmacists can check a centralized database to verify what current prescriptions a specific patient already has.
Someone seeking out the same medication from multiple sources may face accusations of doctor shopping. They can face criminal prosecution for lying to a physician or for attempting to distribute the medication in question to other people.
Not all patients engage in drug-seeking behavior. Sometimes, what looks like drug-seeking behavior is just an attempt to find the right physician. Factors ranging from communication style and bedside manner to treatment recommendations can influence what medical doctors people want to have treat their medical issues.
Patients have every right to seek out second and even third opinions if they don’t agree with the decision made by the first doctor who saw them or don’t feel comfortable under their care. Occasionally, patients may not follow through on a treatment plan recommended by one doctor and may fail to fill the prescription they received they seek out care from a different doctor.
In such scenarios, individuals could end up accused of doctor shopping when they have not actually done anything inappropriate. Thankfully, fighting drug charges is possible with the right support. Defendants who understand why seemingly innocent matters may look like drug crimes can use that information to begin developing a defense strategy.