Re: Taking Pharm tech job to guard the cabbage patch

"Anonymous" <nobody AT dizum DOT com> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> If someone had a pill habit would it not be easy to take a job as a pharm
> tech.  Most everyone would qualify and the big chains can't afford to do
> much of a background check.  Seems it would be easy for someone in a job
> like this to siphon off a few pills every day, in their pocket, or being
> passed to an accomplice through the drive-up window.
>
> I can see this would be difficult with oxies or other C-II meds, but the
> C-III and C-IV stuff, like the vikes and tranqs they don't inventory too
> tightly.  Or if they're afraid of being caught for outright stealing the
> pills, it ought to be pretty easy to slip a phony Rx into the system.
> They work there all day, it should't be too hard for someone to figure out
> how to write, call in, or otherwise get a fake scrip.  One would thing
> this might be a good fringe benefit for an otherise crummy McJob.
>
> In a similar vein, I can see it would be quite easy for a locum tenens
> pharmacist, called in to work a couple shifts in a store, to make a bottle
> of pills disappear.  No one will notice them missing till the end of the
> month and by then it would quite difficult to find whom to put the blame
> on.

You are correct that a few of the reps have had access to Vicodin. During
the 80s, the reps would drop off packs of Vicodin and ES is packs of 25.
Anyone in the office that has signature authority will sign the MDs name. A
lot of times the office staff is assigned to count and put away the drug but
a lot of them would not count. At the most, you could have probably stolen a
25 pack once a week or so without getting caught (since you know who runs
the loose office).

I do not think they are using samples for that these days. If fact, the only
pain med that I know of currently being distributed that way is Ultracet (a
new formula of Ultram that now contains APAP). Probably the most serious
abuse would come from the cough syrups.

Even if they did, you have to understand that those jobs are not as easy to
get as you might think. You need to have a 4 year degree (normally) and
proven interpersonal skills with MDs. It is not like they expect you to just
drop off the drugs. The reps are paid to really pamper the MDs and office
staff as much as the MD will allow. They bring in hot lunches, etc. The
amount of drugs you could scam would really not be worth risking what is
usually a very nice paying job and a great career track! If you are in to
illicit drugs, you are much better off paying for it elsewhere. I do know if
one guy that confessed to scamming a few samples here and there of Hydromet
which was in a fairly high concentrated syrup (compared to typical cough
syrups). He was very foolish. I am sure that quite a few did become tempted
and then caught.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but this is not a great idea to put a
great job at risk for very little. AFAIK, there were never any samples of
CII but I could be wrong. Maybe someone else can say more.

Take care.