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  Prescriptive Authority of Controlled Substances

Drug administrators tend to abuse the prescriptive authority of controlled substances. In the case of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), Heather Alfonso has been used to demonstrate this (Lisa Chedekel, 2015). She used her position in the Medicare drug program to prescribe controlled substances. Schedule 2 drugs are not supposed to be prescribed by nurse practitioners because it is highly likely that the drugs will be abused. Such issues arise mainly when medical practitioners are willing to compromise their practice by receiving hefty payments to prescribe and administer controlled substances regardless of the rules and regulations.

For a medical physician to control the administering of controlled substances, the first step that the physician ensures that a diagnostic workup is conducted. Physicians will have a proper diagnosis of the patients after the diagnostic workup before administering any drug. In the case of Heather Alonso, most of the patients did not have reviews and diagnostic workup before prescriptions and the administration of the drugs which was wrong. The second step a physician should take is obtaining the medical history of the patient and utilizing the prescription database. The database will give information on the drugs the patient has received and will show if other doctors have given multiple medications to the patient (Joel L. Young, 2018).

Also necessary is screening for drug-seeking, this will show if the patient is genuine or just abusing drugs. States can improve their prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP), the better standards will ensure better monitoring and administration of controlled drugs. Any drugs under schedule 2-5 will be monitored. States will be able to learn if stricter control and surveillance are required. Surprise audits at drug administrators can be done through PDMP to check whether the necessary rules and regulations are adhered to. This will lead to efficiency in monitoring and control of administering controlled substances.

References

Joel L. Young. (2018, June 25). Best practices when prescribing controlled substances. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-your-adult-child-breaks-your-heart/201806/best-practices-when-prescribing-controlled

Lisa Chedekel. (2015, April 6). High-prescribing nurse surrenders drug licenses. Retrieved from https://c-hit.org/2015/04/06/high-prescribing-nurse-surrenders-drug-licenses/