2-17. AUTHENTICATION OF THE PRESCRIPTION
Suppose you think you have been handed a forged prescription. What do you
do? Remember, the prescription may be legitimate. Upon the receipt of a prescription
you think is forged, you should immediately give the prescription to the pharmacy officer
(or unit commander in a TO&E unit). The pharmacy officer will contact the prescriber
and verify whether the prescription is valid. If the prescriber indicates that the
prescription is valid, you should make a notation on the back of the prescription form
and fill the prescription as you normally would. If the prescriber indicates that he did not
write the prescription in question, then a forgery has occurred.
2-18. APPREHENSION OF A SUSPECTED FORGER
You are handed what you suspect to be a forged prescription for a controlled
substance. You should not attempt to capture the suspected forger yourself. Instead,
the pharmacy officer (or unit commander of a TO&E unit) will notify the local law
enforcement authorities (Military Police Support in a TO&E unit). Your role will be to
delay the suspected forger. Ensure that the suspected forger does not know that the
authorities have been notified. When the military police arrive, the pharmacy officer
(unit commander in the TO&E unit) will brief them on the situation. This should be done
in an area away from the pharmacy. When the military police are ready to apprehend
the suspected forger, you will issue the medication to him as they observe. You should
ensure that you check the identification card of the suspected forger to establish
ownership of the prescription. Then, issue the medication to the suspected forger as
you would to any patient. As soon as the suspected forger has possession of the
medication, the military police will arrest him. The military police will require the original
prescription for evidence. Copy the prescription on a copy machine or hand-write a
copy of the prescription for the controlled substance prescription file. You should
hand-receipt the original prescription to the military police on a DD Form 1150 ( Request
for Issue or Turn-In). The military police will require a statement from all personnel who
had any contact with the incident. You should write a Memorandum for Record (MFR)
for the pharmacy operational file that explains what happened. This MFR will be used
at a future time if questions about the situation arise.
MD0812
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