Muggers and pain clinics

[Guest Lowbuster]

My wife goes to a pain clinic and was told that people were following patients to drug stores and mugging them when they pick up their meds. Just thought I'd throw this out there. I now go with her to fill her meds. Just another reason to support our rights

[Guest SkinnyKTN]

Yea definitely best to be safe. Seems like I heard on talk radio news that pharmacy robberies is way up lately. Guess their getting desperate.

[Makiaveli]

Thanks for the heads up. Will pass this along. Thankfully only would affect my FiL in my immediate family and he would just ask them to hold his cane while he gets his wallet and then shoot them

[Guest bkelm18]

I go to school with several students who work in pharmacies. According to them pretty much robberies are becoming a common occurrence. One of the students who works in an independent pharmacy says all the pharmacists there are packing heat now. I guess it's a sign of the times.

[Guest Broomhead]

Thankfully I haven't encountered this yet.

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Edited April 8, 2012 by Broomhead

[runco]

I had heard about the following of pain clinic patients to drug stores, but I also have heard that about ER patients too. Low lifes hang out in the ER, watch patients come in with injuries or pain, then when treated and discharged from the ER, followed them to the drug store, then either robbed them in the parking lot, or followed them home. I am a news junky, I will try to find the news article, and post, its been months though.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Runco

[Guest Lowbuster]

We decided to file our scripts and pick them up on a different day. That way if they follow,we leave the pharmacy empty handed that day.

[BryanP]

We decided to file our scripts and pick them up on a different day. That way if they follow,we leave the pharmacy empty handed that day.

I can't remember the last time I was handed a physical script. The doc's all want to call it in to your pharmacy for you now. I'm guessing that cuts down on fake scripts.

[Guest Broomhead]

Some scripts can't be called in, you have to have a physical script. These include most all scheduled drugs, so if you've never needed a "heavy hitter", as I call them, then you probably wouldn't ever need to have a physical script.

[BryanP]

Hmm. The last time I had anything like that was when I had a wisdom tooth pulled. Yeah, I think you're right, they gave me a physical script now that I think of it. Seems counterintuitive. You'd think they could implement something better than carrying a slip of paper with you.

[QuietDan]

Hmm. The last time I had anything like that was when I had a wisdom tooth pulled. Yeah, I think you're right, they gave me a physical script now that I think of it. Seems counterintuitive. You'd think they could implement something better than carrying a slip of paper with you.

Which seems strange, as they usually call the doctor's office to confirm it.

[daddyo]

I go to school with several students who work in pharmacies. According to them pretty much robberies are becoming a common occurrence. One of the students who works in an independent pharmacy says all the pharmacists there are packing heat now. I guess it's a sign of the times.

Are these chain pharmacies or locally owned?

[GKar]

Slightly OT, but it speaks to just how far the low-lifes will go. We now see regular reports of druggies trying to identify anyone who may have been prescribed a Fentanyl patch (similar to a nicotine patch: it is stuck to the body for a period of perhaps several days to provide a steady state release of fentanyl, a very potent synthetic opiate). These morons will dig through the patients trash can to find used patches - which they promptly put in their mouth and chew in an effort to get to any residual drug left in the patch matrix.

If you'll chew a band-aid thats been stuck to someone's butt for 3 days, there's likely no bounds to what else you'll do, eh?

[TripleDigitRide]

This doesn't surprise me. A friend of mine took his roommate to one of the "pain clinics" yesterday morning. He walked out with a prescription for 90 Oxycontin and 60 Morphine. You'd think he was dying or something.

I can't help but wonder if those places are little more than legalized drug dealers.

[GKar]

This doesn't surprise me. A friend of mine took his roommate to one of the "pain clinics" yesterday morning. He walked out with a prescription for 90 Oxycontin and 60 Morphine. You'd think he was dying or something.

That's totally unjustified medical practice, IMHO (not a Dr, but involved heavily in health care for >35 years). Read the prescribing information for either drug - there is no way those quantities can be reconciled against the recommended dosing for either drug unless his roommate is terminally ill with advanced carcinoma or similar condition. Unfortunately, Drs do not have to follow the prescribing information approved by the FDA - to force them to do so is considered inconsistent with their practice of the "art" of medicine. The aggravating thing is they can totally ignore approved dosages, but will almost never bear any responsibility for the problems arising from such.

And woe indeed be to the pharmacist who might question such a prescription...they will most assuredly get a heavy does of the "I'm a doctor and you're not" holier-than-thou crap.

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

How long do people have to go to school to become a Pharmacist? I remember reading once in High-school that it was a long time.

[Guest Broomhead]

How long do people have to go to school to become a Pharmacist? I remember reading once in High-school that it was a long time.

IIRC, they have 2 years more than a doctor does. I could be wrong though.

[Oh Shoot]

IIRC, they have 2 years more than a doctor does. I could be wrong though.

No, just 6 years total starting from scratch.

Or 4 years on top of bachelor degree.

- OS

[TripleDigitRide]

That's totally unjustified medical practice, IMHO (not a Dr, but involved heavily in health care for >35 years). Read the prescribing information for either drug - there is no way those quantities can be reconciled against the recommended dosing for either drug unless his roommate is terminally ill with advanced carcinoma or similar condition. Unfortunately, Drs do not have to follow the prescribing information approved by the FDA - to force them to do so is considered inconsistent with their practice of the "art" of medicine. The aggravating thing is they can totally ignore approved dosages, but will almost never bear any responsibility for the problems arising from such.

And woe indeed be to the pharmacist who might question such a prescription...they will most assuredly get a heavy does of the "I'm a doctor and you're not" holier-than-thou crap.

Yeah, I'm far from an expert, but it sounded more than a little excessive. No, he's not terminally ill. He did suffer some nerve damage from an accident several years ago, but he's hardly in need of those amounts of drugs.

He can walk, drive, go out and play poker on a regular basis. He's been taking four or more of the Oxy's per day for a while now. He told the doctor that they weren't working that well, so the doctor at the pain management clinic cut the Oxy's from 120 down to 90, then gave him the 60 Morphine on top of that to see if they would help.

[Patton]

I can't believe some of these couriers that deliver drugs to the pharmacies havn't been robbed. I see the same vehicle delivering at the same time 4 or more times a week at the neighborhood pharmacy here.