Prescribing narcotics to drug seekers

[Djuna]

The ED where I work is inundated with drug seekers as I assume all US EDs are. I have brought to my Managers attention numerous people who are frequent fliers, but nothing is ever done about it. I am not at the point where I want some serious questions answered and some changes made to our narcotic prescribing policy but I am unsure how to go about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Medical Board, the media, higher management? Who would I speak to?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I thought this would be an interesting place to post this...

I had a pt over the weekend. Male, 50's or 60s. Chronic back pain. Doing yard work, turned the wrong way...exacerbation of pain, including leg numbness/paralysis (the numbess/paralysis is exactly what has happened in the past). When he has come in in the past, the only thing that takes away the numbess/paralysis is IV dilaudid...the ONLY thing. MD refused to once again give him IV dilaudid...only IM. Gets the IM, does "nothing" (per pt). Wife helps him to a w/c...while not 100%, legs were not doing as bad as we thought. Left AMA. On the way out, the wife says "You will hear from our lawyers...they just passed a law that makes it illegal for you to refuse narcotics to a chronic pain patient." She took out names and left. The entire situation is sad, although her statement did add a bit of a light moment to an otherwise serious issue.