Drugs such as OxyContin are diverted in a variety of ways, including pharmacy diversion, “doctor shopping,” and improper prescribing practices by physicians.

Pharmacy diversion occurs when individuals working in pharmacies take products directly from the shelves, or when people make fraudulent prescriptions.

The most widely used diversion technique at the street level is doctor shopping. Individuals, who may or may not have a legitimate ailment requiring a doctor’s prescription for controlled substances, visit numerous doctors, sometimes in several states, to acquire large amounts of controlled substances they abuse or sell to others.

Improper prescribing practices by unscrupulous physicians are another way of diverting pharmaceuticals, according to law enforcement sources surveyed by the NDIC.

The abuse of OxyContin, as with the abuse of most prescription drugs, creates a cycle of health care fraud. For example, a corrupt physician writes a patient a prescription for a pain reliever for a nonexistent injury. The physician bills the insurance company for that, and subsequent, visits. The patient uses a portion of the prescribed pills and sells the rest for a substantial profit.

° Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center