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What to do when a doctor continues to prescribe meds not needed?
I have a family member who has been having an issue with abusing pills. Her doctor continues to prescribe her medications such as Fioricet and Ambien even after she had a 48hour watch done at the local mental hospital for taking a large quantity of Lortabs and having hallucinations. My question is this as a very concerned family member what can I do? The doctor knows about her stay at the hospital.But I think she is lieing to the doctor about what she uses the meds for. Just recently her boyfriend said she would not allow him to go back in the room with her at the doctor. She also is in major denial about what she is doing. As far as I am concerned the doctor is enabling her to continue to abuse meds. Any suggestions about how to handle this would be greatly appreciated. We are very afraid that she might overdose and her behavior becomes very erratic.
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Because of medical confidentiality laws there is not much you can do.
You can have a conversation with her doctor and make the doctor aware of your concerns. This will be a very one sided conversation as the doctor by law will not and cannot discuss the family members medical history with you without a signed consent to disclose form from that family member.
If you truly believe that family member is a danger to themselves there is a possibility of an involuntary commitment to a hospital for a period of 24 to 72 hours for observation. Generally this requires two consenting opinions by examining doctors, a social service commitment or a commitment by law enforcement.
A third option is to consult with an attorney and see if a court order can be obtained where in you or another family member can be appointed this persons guardian. I believe it is called Guardian Ad Litem. If you can successfully prove to the court that this person is a danger to themselves and cannot properly care for themselves and their family if they have one the court can at their discretion order guardianship.
Once guardianship is ordered you will then have access to medical records, can approve medical treatment nd what ever else the court appoints you to handle on behalf of this person. All of which is overseen by the court.
Guardianship of an adult is very hard to get. The courts are going to want proof beyond all doubt. Consult with an attorney in any case as the laws in every state are different.
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the trouble with this is the Hippocratic oath doctors must take which says they can't share personal information with anyone really. But i believe you can request a consultation with the doctor about your family member and explain your concerns.
But you should remember, there's a difference between your beliefs and the doctors medical knowledge so it could be that these medicines are actually going to help her psychological issues. If she is abusing pills the other option is try to get her into a therapist, it costs more and takes time but is proven to have more long lasting effective results and will help her control her medicines better.
equally, there is corruption in every part of the world, this doctor could simply be preying off insurance, in which case a bit of self investigation may pay off and if you find out this is the case you can contact the head of the hospital immedietly and threaten to sue them if they do not help your family rather than manipulate them. good luck :)
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