What would you do if you suspect a customer is a drug seeker?

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Community Answers

With the rise of abuse of opiates and painkillers, pharmacies have seen a dramatic increase in people coming in with fraudulent prescriptions. If possible, let the interviewer know of any protocols that you've worked under if these situations were to arise. If you have a specific example of a time when you encountered a drug-seeking customer, let your interviewer know how you handled that situation.

"If I suspected that a customer is looking for medication outside of the scope of a legit prescription, I would immediately speak to the pharmacist on duty. It is their responsibility to either fill or deny a prescription based on their knowledge and best judgment."

"With my current employer, we've been trained to spot potentially fraudulent prescriptions and behaviors of people looking for drugs. If we ever suspect this is the case, we have a specific protocol in place where we inform the pharmacist right away to handle the customer. Just recently, a man came in with a prescription from two states away that didn't look right. When I informed him I needed to grab the pharmacist, he became very angry and shouted profanities in front of other customers. The pharmacist quickly told him we wouldn't fill the prescription, and he was asked to leave. Luckily, he did without incident."

"Having attended a continuing ed course on drug-seeking behavior, I consider myself very proficient in recognizing this type of behavior in an individual as well as being able to spot a fishy prescription. With my current employer, our policy is to notify the lead pharmacist on duty if I suspect fraudulent activity from a customer. The pharmacist then speaks directly with the person, reviews their prescription, and contacts any necessary parties to determine the validity of the prescription."

Anonymous Answer

"After working in the pharmacy for almost ten years, I learned to recognize drug seekers. After I suspect that, I let my pharmacist know so he can call the Dr's office and verify the prescription. As our policy said, let the patient know we have to verify the prescription."