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.

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

Call the police. That is the FIRST thing I would do!

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Specializes in none.
No- (I know that wasn't directed at me- but I've almost always have a spare :two cents: !! )... I see you more as concerned :D

thank you, Not at you must have hit the wrong key.:yeah:

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Call the police. That is the FIRST thing I would do!

Identity theft goes through the FBI (been there, done that w/an internet sicko). Also, the 'crime' of getting the drugs was halted by the pharmacy- they have the investigation (they're the ones who have to account for the drugs in this case).

The police do not care about identity theft or licenses....not their job :) They don't track down anybody for ID theft. They don't do the prosecution.

God bless the police for all of the calls they might be getting :D

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Having reported actual criminal behavior that took place where nothing was done, I can assure you the police typically don't care and will usually tell you why. If they don't witness the criminal behavior, they can't and won't do anything about it. A friend's relative kept asking for help over and over when it involved minors. Nothing was ever done until a single officer saw a traffic violation, stopped the offender and arrested him for possession and driving without a license. He told the lady when he contacted her about the car that he remembered her from all the times he had responded to her reports without taking action. Finally something happened, by coincidence.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
Identity theft goes through the FBI (been there, done that w/an internet sicko). Also, the 'crime' of getting the drugs was halted by the pharmacy- they have the investigation (they're the ones who have to account for the drugs in this case).

The police do not care about identity theft or licenses....not their job :) They don't track down anybody for ID theft. They don't do the prosecution.

God bless the police for all of the calls they might be getting :D

As a person that has been a victim of identy theft MULTIPLE times, I can tell you now that identity theft does NOT automatically go through the FBI...it depends on WHAT part of your identity that was stolen, who stole it, where it was stolen and how it was used.

Example: If you had a bank card number stolen...that goes not through the FBI, but through the Secret Service Department because it is under the department of treasury.

If you had someone to take your name/address and try to open up a utility (but did not use your SS#), then that is a LOCAL police problem...the police has department $$$ limitations based on what the District Attorney is willing to prosecute...this affects what they will and will not investigate for.

If you have your social security number stolen. THAT goes through the FBI, because that is part of the Social Security Administration which is federal.

That is how it works.

Been there, done that.

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As a person that has been a victim of identy theft MULTIPLE times, I can tell you now that identity theft does NOT automatically go through the FBI...it depends on WHAT part of your identity that was stolen, who stole it, where it was stolen and how it was used.

Example: If you had a bank card number stolen...that goes not through the FBI, but through the Secret Service Department because it is under the department of treasury.

If you had someone to take your name/address and try to open up a utility (but did not use your SS#), then that is a LOCAL police problem...the police has department $$$ limitations based on what the District Attorney is willing to prosecute...this affects what they will and will not investigate for.

If you have your social security number stolen. THAT goes through the FBI, because that is part of the Social Security Administration which is federal.

That is how it works.

Been there, done that.

Well, btdt also, and it was on a debit card- FBI were the ones here that dealt with it, reported by the bank. :) That was my experience....

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Specializes in family practice.

If you had someone to take your name/address and try to open up a utility (but did not use your SS#), then that is a LOCAL police problem...the police has department $$$ limitations based on what the District Attorney is willing to prosecute...this affects what they will and will not investigate for.

That is how it works.

Been there, done that.

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

.

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#.

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

Good Lord, you have NO CONTROL if someone uses your name in the commission of ANY CRIME. Somebody could get arrested tomorrow and use my name. I don't worry about things like that.

You can report the person for identity theft..but other than that, no crime has been committed against you...it was against the pharmacy.

That is why they can trace calls, etc.

Seriously...let them do the investigation and don't worry about it. Your license is not in jeapardy.

I believe with the first comment you have contradicted yourself in all other posts. How would you say the police would take care of someone using your name and address and that's not a crime. If you call everything you typed critical thinking then i am going to question it. Since when is identity theft not a crime. It is a crime that could be persecuted and when someone is falsely claiming to be you without your knowledge or permission then you can persecute them unless you don't know who it is.

OP, i believe this person was claiming to be you which is a crime against you. You can persecute if you want but if you are worried about your license you can report it to the police so you can have a statement on file. Dont just report to your employer

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Some people seem to really be upset about the idea of making out a police report in this situation. If you look at it as a cost-benefit ratio it makes sense even if you can't point to a statute or you think it will languish and nobody will care. If an extra half-hour of my time meant I could possibly mitigate the consequences of actions of people and institutions who are error-prone or lie-prone why would anybody deride that? Lots of systems have redundancies in place despite the low probability of a mishap occurring.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
I believe with the first comment you have contradicted yourself in all other posts. How would you say the police would take care of someone using your name and address and that's not a crime. If you call everything you typed critical thinking then i am going to question it. Since when is identity theft not a crime. It is a crime that could be persecuted and when someone is falsely claiming to be you without your knowledge or permission then you can persecute them unless you don't know who it is.

OP, i believe this person was claiming to be you which is a crime against you. You can persecute if you want but if you are worried about your license you can report it to the police so you can have a statement on file. Dont just report to your employer

It's not that simple...I wasn't contradicting myself at all...in fact I said that the only crime that MAY have been committed was identity theft with regards to the OP...but that isn't for me to decide, that is for the local police department.

Reporting someone for identity theft and them being CHARGED with identity theft..two different things.

Every state has their own guidelines as to what constitutes identity theft....I never said that she shouldn't report it to the police, I would just to be sure the situation is documented.

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Doesn't a nurse have to have the doctor's DEA number to call in a prescription? How would the patient get that number? Off an old prescription?

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Doesn't a nurse have to have the doctor's DEA number to call in a prescription? How would the patient get that number? Off an old prescription?

Yes, a patient can get the DEA number off of old prescriptions- but not all pharmacies ask for them if the doc is well known to them.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

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.

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