pt. called in narcotics under MY name...now what

Nurses General Nursing

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Im an lvn at a clinic. I just found out a pt of ours, who was denied her last request of hydrocodone phoned it herself using my name. We found this out because she did not include strength and the pharmacy faxed over a clarification fax. I am angry. What is the best way to handle this now? I did speak with the pharmacy, they said they have an investigator who will check into it. Should I file a police report? Tell the board? has this happened to any of you and what is the best way to handle it. My license is dear to me and I am offended someone would jeapardize it.

But seriously folks...is this situation even that unusual that the OP described?

I would think that pharmacies would very savvy at picking up these fake call-ins and to me, it wouldn't take but rattling off a little pharmaceutical jargon before you could trip up easily to someone that did not have medical training...might be harder with a former nurse.

However, I think that this probably happens all the time..more than we know.

I am sure those that have worked in a pharmacy would know.

Many addicts have a great deal of drug info :) I agree- it's common...and I've seen police outside of pharmacies waiting for people and had patients at the rehab place who tried to call in or write their own prescriptions. A leftover rx pad (before the e-scripts) was like gold to an addict...

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I'll be honest..you have been watching too much CSI.

1. What is she going to report to the narcotics officer and what PROOF is she going to be able to provide?

Nothing...absolutely nothing...because it is the PHARMACY, not her, that took downt he information.

The proof she will provide is what the pharmacy told her, and the pharmacy will back it up when it is investigated.

2. Identity theft is the only thing that is even close to being her case...and even THAT is subjective, depending on which state. Some require something more than just a name, such as a license number or a SS#.

Like identity theft is a small thing?

3. The pharmacy is already doing an investigation, she needs to report it to her physician...let those that are in the AUTHORITY to ake care of it..take care of it.

We have heard many report how they let others take care of everything for them and they were screwed in the end.

4. If your brother-in-law is a former officer then he should know that he said/she said is NOT SUFFICIENT to convict in a court of law..."beyond a reasonable doubt" is required...hard to prove a money exchange when no evidence of one took place.

You are jumping the gun here. No one has said anything about prosecuting the criminal in a court of law. The decision to prosecute or not will lie with the district attorney. The OP has every right to report this to the police if she chooses, and should in my opinion. Reporting it to the police will give the op a record of having filed a complaint, which will support her position if she should ever need it.

5. There IS DOCUMENTATION...it's called a traced call from where the precription was called in from....if it wasn't the doctor's office or a phone number to tie the RN into it (her home or her cell), then no proof exists she was involved. She cannot legally obtain phone records without a court order...the crime has legally been committed against the pharmacy...in fact, THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO KEEP HER INFORMED of how the investigation is going.

Documentation in the hands of others has a way of disappearing, or cannot be accessed beyond a certain period of time. Better to have your own documentation of everything you can get your hands on.

Seriously...some people are blowing this WAY out of context.

It would seem that you are not a proactive kind of person.

This is a good time for critical thinking! Not imaginative play.

Critical thinking includes imagining the worst possible scenarios and doing what you can to prevent them from happening. Better this than to say, "I wish I would have..."

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i have a sense of understanding that addiction is a disease and have family members who suffer but this person did commit a crime and i wouldn't hesitate for a second before calling the police. i see this as a bit different than "identity theft".

seems to me it was happenstance that the op found out about this. it used to be you could expect a simple clarification or explanation to be enough should there be any sort of reperucssion from this person impersonating another to obtain controlled substances. i no longer feel that way at all.. the important thing is that you create a trail of documentation that indicates you were made aware of the situation.

having recently dealt with bureaucracies i don't think you can do too much to get your story out there. they twist, they turn, they misinterpret, they lose things, they tell you a different answer with each communication, etc etc. and that is the "good guys"!! the patient has already demonstrated a willingness to lie. i would want to cover all my bases.

nothing could be more true.

i don't know what op should do beyond what she has already done. i would not notify the bon, as this has nothing to do with her license at this point. if she is accused of wrong-doing, that's when she might have to deal with the bon. it sounds like the pharmacy is handling this investigation and like the op is in no trouble.

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I have a sense of understanding that addiction is a disease and have family members who suffer but this person did commit a crime and I wouldn't hesitate for a second before calling the police. I see this as a bit different than "identity theft".

Seems to me it was happenstance that the OP found out about this. It used to be you could expect a simple clarification or explanation to be enough should there be any sort of reperucssion from this person impersonating another to obtain controlled substances. I no longer feel that way at all.. The important thing is that you create a trail of documentation that indicates you were made aware of the situation.

Having recently dealt with bureaucracies I don't think you can do too much to get your story out there. They twist, they turn, they misinterpret, they lose things, they tell you a different answer with each communication, etc etc. and that is the "good guys"!! The patient has already demonstrated a willingness to lie. I would want to cover all my bases.

Nothing could be more true.

I don't know what OP should do beyond what she has already done. I would NOT notify the BON, as this has nothing to do with her license AT THIS POINT. If she is accused of wrong-doing, that's when she might have to deal with the BON. It sounds like the pharmacy is handling this investigation and like the OP is in no trouble.

Yeah, I have to second (or third) this. I'm not one to leave my fate totally in the hands of others if I can help it.

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Call the cops for sure! Wow. Nursing is so crazy for us! How do you call in narcs? I've worked in hospitals and don't even know what this means. We get the order, process it, and the patient gets the meds in the pyxis. How in the world does a patient "call in a narc"? Does she call the physician using SBAR and then get an order??? I am ignorant! How can this possibly work? This must be a case for Nurse Jackie; cause' it is beyond my understanding. Please let me know what this is so I can make sure I turn my name tag the other way when I deal with the big addict patients!!! I mean it!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!Good Luck OP! I would definitely call the police...just in case...you have something on record if the BON should ever catch wind.

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Call the cops for sure! Wow. Nursing is so crazy for us! How do you call in narcs? I've worked in hospitals and don't even know what this means. We get the order, process it, and the patient gets the meds in the pyxis. How in the world does a patient "call in a narc"? Does she call the physician using SBAR and then get an order??? I am ignorant! How can this possibly work? This must be a case for Nurse Jackie; cause' it is beyond my understanding. Please let me know what this is so I can make sure I turn my name tag the other way when I deal with the big addict patients!!! I mean it!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!Good Luck OP! I would definitely call the police...just in case...you have something on record if the BON should ever catch wind.

The pharmacy is the direct link to the person who called this in, and an investigation was initiated by them. :)

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
Call the cops for sure! Wow. Nursing is so crazy for us! How do you call in narcs? I've worked in hospitals and don't even know what this means. We get the order, process it, and the patient gets the meds in the pyxis. How in the world does a patient "call in a narc"? Does she call the physician using SBAR and then get an order??? I am ignorant! How can this possibly work? This must be a case for Nurse Jackie; cause' it is beyond my understanding. Please let me know what this is so I can make sure I turn my name tag the other way when I deal with the big addict patients!!! I mean it!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!Good Luck OP! I would definitely call the police...just in case...you have something on record if the BON should ever catch wind.

This isn't an inpatient thing. We are talking a clinic, and often prescriptions are called in to a pharmacy so that the meds are ready when the pt. gets there (Walgreens, Walmart, etc.). My state doesn't allow narcs to be phoned in, only abx etc.

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Excuse me for my ignorance, but who is the local narcotics officer? Is he DEA? Or just the sheriff? I am so confused. How can a patient order a narc for herself in a nurses name without the full name to start with? I am blown away. I will change my nametag to another name if this happens a lot. Is this in behavioral health? SNF? Med-Surg? I am so mind-boggled and ignorant!!I feel for OP!!! Any paper trail will be a GOOD thing!!!!! Blessings AGAIN!!!

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Thank you x tern and J Budd....knew exactly what I meant...duh...: )

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Excuse me for my ignorance, but who is the local narcotics officer? Is he DEA? Or just the sheriff? I am so confused. How can a patient order a narc for herself in a nurses name without the full name to start with? I am blown away. I will change my nametag to another name if this happens a lot. Is this in behavioral health? SNF? Med-Surg? I am so mind-boggled and ignorant!!I feel for OP!!! Any paper trail will be a GOOD thing!!!!! Blessings AGAIN!!!

It was a patient at the clinic the OP worked at that called a rx in to the pharmacy....the pharmacy caught it. :)

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I am thinking that the OP may need to have the perp. cited to have on record for the BON. Can't go back and do that in the future....paper trail, paper trail.

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Specializes in none.
Excuse me for my ignorance, but who is the local narcotics officer? Is he DEA? Or just the sheriff? I am so confused. How can a patient order a narc for herself in a nurses name without the full name to start with? I am blown away. I will change my nametag to another name if this happens a lot. Is this in behavioral health? SNF? Med-Surg? I am so mind-boggled and ignorant!!I feel for OP!!! Any paper trail will be a GOOD thing!!!!! Blessings AGAIN!!!

Each moderate size Police Force has a Narcotics Division or Department that has the job of investigating crimes concerning drugs. All the police I know have training in Narcotics such as recognition and testing a suspected substances. But the Narcotics Officers have extensive training. They are the ones that go undercover to get the dealers.

Changing your name plate wouldn't help. Someone can go online and get your license number, and in some cases your address and phone number. Boards of Nursing have added look up a license. The person just pugs in your name and bingo they have your number and the he new provider information numbers. I don't know if hospital nurses have them but agency nurses do. I put down my address in stead of the agency's. My name address and phone number is all over the Internet. This is brought to you by your friendly US government. Ain't Nursing grand! :uhoh3:

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