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'Doctor Shopping' and 'Pharmacy Shopping' Linked to Drug-Related Deaths; PMPs Can Help, Study Concludes
The practice of doctor or pharmacy shopping to illegally obtain prescription drugs was linked to drug-related deaths in a study using data from West Virginia’s PMP. Researchers analyzed Schedule II through IV prescription data from the West Virginia Controlled Substance Monitoring Program and drug-related death data compiled by the Forensic Drug Database from July 2005 through December 2007. They determined that approximately 25% of people with drug-related deaths had been doctor shoppers, visiting various doctors to obtain multiple prescriptions for the same medications. Almost 18% of people with drug-related deaths were pharmacy shoppers, visiting multiple pharmacies to have prescriptions filled. The researchers found that “Younger age, greater number of prescriptions dispensed, exposure to opioids and benzodiazepines, and doctor and pharmacy shopping were factors with greater odds of drug-related death.” They concluded that PMPs may be useful in assisting health care providers to identify doctor and pharmacy shoppers at the point of care. The article, "Doctor and Pharmacy Shopping for Controlled Substances," was published in the June 2012 issue of Medical Care.
