Pharmacist Alerts Police to Fake Rx for Cough Medicine

When a pharmacist noticed that 2 individuals were trying to pass off a similar prescription for cough medicine from the same doctor, she started to get suspicious.

The men presented prescriptions for codeine cough syrup at a Walgreens pharmacy in Tennessee, according to The Times Free Press.

One of the men was successful in his efforts to get a hold of the medication, but when the similar prescription was presented by the second man, the pharmacist asked for identification and said she needed to verify the prescription, The Times Free Press reported.

The pharmacist called the number on the prescription, and someone answered and pretended to be an employee at a doctor’s office, but could not provide sufficient information for the pharmacist, The Times Free Press reported. So, the pharmacist decided not to fill the prescription.

The first man then came back to the pharmacy 2 days later with a copy of the second prescription, but it was denied and the matter was turned over to the police.

The police are now on the lookout for the suspects, whose photos were captured by pharmacy surveillance.

Another way pharmacists can be vigilant in determining fraudulent prescriptions is keeping an eye out for prescriptions without Drug Enforcement Administration registration numbers.

Pharmacists may also decide to tell patients they do not have the medication in stock if they think a prescription looks suspicious. That way, pharmacists can ask police to be on stand-by if the patient comes back to pick up the medication at a later time.