The opioid crisis has its roots in prescription fraud, which is something that you may not know. The crisis began as a legitimate use of prescription drugs. However, due to the actions of companies trying to push their medications, doctors increased the prescribing of opioids, which led to serious addictions.
When doctors decided to no longer prescribe these medications as freely, people turned to prescription fraud to get them. The Council of the Inspectors General of Integrity and Efficiency explains that through prescription monitoring, the government hopes to prevent fraud that enables addictions.
Fraud Attempts
If you want to get opioids you have to have a prescription from a doctor. These days, doctors will only prescribe them in limited cases and in limited quantities. In order to get enough of the medication to feed an addiction, people will use prescription fraud.
They may forge prescriptions, have other people give them their prescriptions or go to multiple doctors to get multiple prescriptions for the same medication. Some people may do all of these things.
Blocking The Fraud
The government has created some strict guidelines for prescribing opioids, which means that it is much more difficult to get them. Beyond limiting when and how much a doctor may prescribe, there are also better databases in place to avoid doctor shopping and getting multiple prescriptions for the same medication. There are also many alternatives that doctors will use to avoid prescribing opioid medications.
When people get a hold of opioids, they may use the drug themselves or give them to others. Some people will sell them. This only encourages the crisis to grow, so controlling prescriptions is a good way to help combat the opioid crisis.