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Prescription fraud: Mother of two found guilty

A Polokwane mother of two has been found guilty of fraud after she used a computer to copy and change a doctor's prescription for drugs. Prudence Lekganyane was given a two-year sentence, suspended for five years,for attempting to gain drugs by fraudulently creating a prescription in the name of a local doctor.

Lekganyane, who is believed to have good computer knowledge, used a computer to generate and alter the doctor's prescription, multiplying the number of prescribed tablets, which included sleeping pills and diet pills. She also changed some other details, such as the doctor's practice number and misspelt the doctor's surname. She was unaware that each prescription has a unique number.

She also wrote a letter of explanation, supposedly from the doctor, explaining why "the patient" needed the increased dosage, also unaware that doctors would not give such an explanation because a prescription would be precise in stating the amount of pills prescribed.It appears that attempts to obtain drugs with false prescriptions are increasing in Polokwane. On Tuesday this week a doctor phoned pharmacists in the city  warning them to be on the lookout for a certain person who submitted  three false prescriptions at  various chemists in the city. André Visser, a chemist and manager of the Pharmwell group in Polokwane said the problem of people buying high quantities of over the counter (OTC) medicines and prescribed medicines at various or sometimes the same chemist was a huge problem in the city. "Schedule one and two medicines can be bought OTC, but a register is kept," Visser said. "Many people however go to different chemists, sometimes on a daily basis, and buy pain killers. Just imagine a person going to ten different  chemists and buying 100 painkillers. Sometimes we as pharmacists, get to know the faces of these regulars and we then warn other pharmacists about them.  Usually it is the pharmacist who has to take the initiative to talk to such a person about his or her alarming  drug habits. "Many people just go to another pharmacy and continue buying the drugs there. Others are angry at the pharmacist, who only cares about the health and well-being of the drug abuser," he said. "The fact that  medication could be sold OTC, or with or without a prescription, does not make it less dangerous".

The usage of cough or cold  medication containing dextromethorphan, for instance, has beneficial effects when taken as recommended, but when abused or taken in large quantities can cause serious health consequences. Medication taken  in combination with certain other medications may have fatal consequences.

"Many cough medicines have recently been scheduled and can now only be bought with a prescription as a result of people abusing them. Diet pills and mixtures are another form of drugs that have been rescheduled in recent years, many from schedule two to seven, which may only be prescribed once only and with several other restrictions. Only a few 'natural' or herbal diet pills have not been scheduled," Visser said.

Review online, 06 September 2012.