Pharmacists are often on the frontline when it comes to prescription fraud. Your job may require you to be aware of typical fraud schemes. If you participate in such scams, you could face prescription drug fraud charges as well. This makes it essential to be aware of how fraud occurs with prescription drugs.
The U.S. Department of Justice explains that if you fill a prescription that is not valid and you know it is not valid, then you are responsible under the law for that crime. There are plenty of clues that a prescription is not real, and you have many safeguards in place to verify the legitimacy of a prescription. You also need to be aware of the types of fraudulent prescriptions out there.
Call-In
A person may pretend he or she is calling from a medical office and providing a prescription over the phone. It is common for the person to give his or her own phone number as the callback for verification purposes.
Stolen Pad
Some people will steal prescription pads from a doctor and use them to write their own prescriptions. You can often spot this type of fraud because there will be an unusual number of prescriptions coming from this doctor. In addition, the writing or the general look of the prescription order will be different from those legitimate prescriptions coming from the actual doctor.
Alterations
Some people may alter a prescription to get more medication. You should verify any changes in the prescription. You may also notice the dosage is unusual, different ink colors or handwriting on a typed prescription.