You need to:

• Use only one pharmacy (drugstore).
• Work closely with the pharmacists to make sure they have your medicine when you need it.
• Always make sure you let the pharmacists know if there have been any changes in your pain treatment.
• Tell your doctor and pharmacist if your pain is not being relieved. Ask them to talk with each other to change your treatment.

You need to know that many of the drugs used to relieve pain can be misused or abused by people. These drugs are also wanted by people on the street to sell illegally. The desire for illegal drugs is causing more burglaries and armed robberies. Many are taking fake prescriptions to drugstores to get these drugs. This is why it can make it hard for you to get these drugs when you need them. Because of this, the pharmacist needs to know for sure that you truly are the patient needing this drug. Federal and state laws make the pharmacist responsible for the following:

Your Pharmacist needs to:

• Make sure the doctor has truly prescribed this drug to you and that it is for medical reasons.
• Make sure that the doctor is allowed to prescribe those drugs.
• Check your name and address to make sure they are real.

If the pharmacist does not know you and they are not sure that the prescription is real, they have to talk to the doctor who gave you the prescription.