A patient who is seeking a prescription for an abusable drug often shows a number of behaviors that can be recognized by an astute clinician.
Demographics:
(1) no positive form of identification
(2) false information (wrong address, birth date, telephone number, etc)
(3) claims to be from out of town
Behavior:
(1) seeks an appointment at the end of day or asks to be seen after regular hours
(2) insists on being seen immediately and having demands met
(3) in a hurry (may be used to mask agitation)
Previous history:
(1) vague or cannot remember physicians or hospitals
(2) unwilling to give permission to get old records
(3) old records destroyed in a disaster or fire
(4) claims medication or prescription lost or stolen
Clinical features:
(1) discrepancies between complaints and clinical signs and symptoms
(2) little interest in being examined or having tests performed
(3) reports an allergy to undesirable drugs
(4) requests drugs by name or directs conversation to certain drugs
