Dealing with drug-seeking patients: the Tripler Army Medical Center experience

Patients who exhibit drug-seeking behavior are a chronic problem in most health care delivery settings. In June 1996, Tripler Army Medical Center, a tertiary care hospital serving approximately 300,000 beneficiaries, implemented a sole provider program to identify and help such patients. A multidisciplinary sole provider team assigns a sole provider to identified drug seekers. Twice a year, the team scans a printout of all prescriptions for controlled substances to identify suspicious drug usage patterns. The team also accepts referrals from health care providers. This article describes the program and reports on results, problems encountered, and steps taken to improve its efficacy.