Brady asked
I went to my pharmacy yesterday and tried to get my suboxone filled like I have for the past year. I didn't have my i.d. So I asked my dad to go down and get it for me. They said that they could not fill it because I didn't have my i.d. and it didn't matter if he was my dad or not I had to have mine and nobody else could pick it up that the government had red flagged me because to many people have picked up my prescription and only 3 people have pick it up. Me, my fiancé, and my dad one time. Is that possible? Can I be red flagged because of that?
Answer
Laws vary state to state but I can tell you with confidence there is no central government "red flagging" system for controlled substance fills. Many states, such as New York, DO have a central system for looking up the controlled substance fill history of a particular person, but again, there is no "red flag" that pops up whenever anything is filled. The pharmacist must go into the system manually if he or she chooses to do so for whatever reason. The system in New York is called ISTOP. More information about NY ISTOP can be found here: https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/narcotic/prescription_monitoring/
The situation that happened to you most likely is a pharmacy policy. Again, laws vary state to state. There is no law that I am aware of in any state (and certainly not New York where I practice) that absolutely requires the person for which the prescription is for to specifically pick it up themselves with identification. Most pharmacies have a store policy stating the need for ID every time however.
The law is usually ambiguous and open to interpretation. In New York, the following is the only passage in regards to who a pharmacist can give a controlled substance to:
New York Controlled Substance Regulations: Part 80
Section 80.73 - Subsection g(3)
(3) (The pharmacist must) make a good-faith effort to verify the identity of both the practitioner and the ultimate user.
That sentence is all the law has to say about it. It's generally accepted that verifying the address, and the relationship of the ultimate user is enough to sell out prescriptions to a third party but again, many pharmacies have much more strict rules. Situations where there are often different people picking up controlled substances for someone may cause some discomfort with the pharmacists in the pharmacy and therefore they may make policies based on their judgement. If you went to another pharmacy, they likely will have their own specific set of policies.
