Sometimes in a drugstore you can see the the following situation: somebody wants to buy a prescribed hormonal drug, but the pharmacist denies because the receipt is fake. Moreover, an experienced pharmacist would immediately call the office of hospital or a physician and report all concerns. If drugstore employee finds out that prescription has not been provided neither by an MD nor by a nurse practitioner, the customer will be for sure declined. No drugstore is allowed to sell drugs that are provided by prescription, without proper prescription by an authoritative person.
Why To Forge?
There are several reasons why one would risk and fake the receipts for hormonal drugs. One of the possible reasons is that he or she just supplies certain hormonal pills to someone else, for example, to people abroad, where drugs cost more or are not allowed for selling. This is a rather popular scheme, and many people try to speculate selling substances that require official prescription from a medical body. Another possible case may be that people cannot afford official treatment, testing and so on, but believe they know better what drug they could use. They also seek where to buy medications without prescription. National HRT officials should be informed about such cases.
What The Laws Say
However, not only a patient can fake a receipt for hormonal treatment. The offense under the Criminal Code envisage that the subject of the crime may be:
- A doctor or other person who is entitled by law to issue documents for the receipt or to prosecute for illegal issuance of prescriptions.
- A patient who forges due prescription to obtain medication for the third party. This action is classified as a direct intent to commit a crime.
The composition of the offense starts from the moment of illegal issuance of the document, or from the moment of forgery of the document. Other documents include those that are the basis for the issuance (sale) of hormonal medications, and other actions for their legal circulation. Such documents may include, in particular, a license for a certain type of activity related to drug pills, the application of a medical institution to receive these drugs or substances for use in medical practice, an extract from the patient’s medical history, a consignment note, etc. Forging of a prescription or another document (the production of a form of the document, seals, the signature of a doctor, etc.), is considered a crime, including an authorized correction in a valid recipe.
Patients who are engaged in the following fraud, must be aware that law strongly forbids this kind of actions and that violators are subject to punishment.
When The Doctor Is “Clean”
What if you have faced such a situation yourself, if the pharmacist claims that your receipt is fake, and you cannot get the medication? Firstly, make sure that your doctor, and the medical facility you visit, are legal and eligible for issuing recipes. It you find out they are not, when you are already in the drugstore and the pharmacist is going to report the case, you should contact and consult a lawyer in the first place. You will not be able to prove that you were not aware of the doctor’s legal status without the help of the lawyer. On the other hand, if you are sure about your doctor and the facility, don’t worry, just contact them and explain the case; it is usually some kind of mistake that is easy to solve.
Doctors responsible for examination, diagnosis and further courses of treatment can avoid legal consequences in the following cases:
- The MD whose signature was forged had never issued a prescription for a certain patient, and there is no information how it appeared on the prescription.
- The MD whose name was used applies for investigation. He insist reporting the patient to the police by the pharmacy.
The best way to avoid such problems with the law is to consult reputable doctors who work for trusted medical facilities. In this case you will be protected from any kind of fraud with recipes.