Deception for drugs: self-reported "doctor shopping" among young adults

Pharmaceutical abuse is a burgeoning problem, and various forms of drug diversion are becoming more common. At present, little is known about those who attempt to deceive physicians to receive medications, and even less is known about those who successfully avoid detection and abuse-related repercussions. The goal of this study is to assess the prevalence of attempted physician deception in a general population, explore common motives, and evaluate risk factors associated with the behavior.

A stratified random sampling technique was used to obtain a locally representative sample of 2349 young adults. The sample was 48.4% male, 68.9% white, 24.4% black, and 2.8% Hispanic. Selected individuals were surveyed using a self-report instrument (80.4% response rate).

Of the respondents, 93 (4.0%) self-reported having attempted to deceive a physician to obtain a pharmaceutical. Most of these indicated that they were at least partially motivated by their own abuse. Approximately half reported that selling a portion of the prescription was a motivating factor. Alcohol use, marijuana use, and pharmaceutical misuse each were risk factors associated with attempted deception. Although no traits were definitively linked to the behavior, attempted deception was more commonly reported by men, Hispanics, self-identified lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender individuals, and those at the lowest and highest extremes of the income spectrum. Logistic regression models of rare events indicated that past substance use along with sexual orientation and family income were related to attempted deception when controlling for other factors.

Results suggest that attempted physician deception may be more common than previously believed. Practicing physicians should attempt to use risk factor information presented within this study, albeit very cautiously. This study identifies general characteristics of young people who might divert medications but notes that only a small minority of any patient group will do so. Awareness should not equal bias in the treatment of these patients; instead, it should reinforce the need for careful clinical interviewing and the utilization of prescription drug monitoring programs and local law enforcement databases.