Drug Abuse

Question by Suzy: failed drug test will it be on referral?
been pain patient for 12y i was trying to stretch out my pain meds took something else my dr released me sent a referral to another pain dr. will that be on the referral failed drug test. i hate that i did this iam so worried i wont be able to find a dr

Best answer:

Answer by Jared
Maybe.

Since the pain management physician referred you to another doctor it is highly likely that your medical records will have been sent to this doctor. With a failed drug test and breach of contract at your original physician this was likely noted in your chart and will be seen by the new physician.

That said,.. the new physician should still take you on as a patient. You may have to do a little explaining if he or she brings up the failed test and release.. so just prepare yourself for what really happened. Be honest, it’s the easiest thing to do. You won’t fool the doctor with any made up story. Just tell them what you told us, that you were in pain.. stretching out medications.. and when in pain you made a bad decision. You were released and now you are here.. and that you have learned a hard lesson and regret the decision. Further you are ready to put it behind you and move on.

Many if not most pain clinics will drug test you (and some pill count) — so they will know if you are abusing prescribed medication.. Thus it isn’t a huge liability to take you on as a new patient even with the ‘red flag’ in your chart.

All of that said — You may consider getting your medical records from your original doctor (they are legally yours,.. they must, by law, make a copy of them for you (but they can charge) in a reasonable amount of time. With these records you can omit the page that has your dismissal/failed test — as it does unfairly discriminate against proper treatment of your chronic pain. The rest of the records (imaging/mri/xrays/cat scans..etc) will serve as basis for the need of the chronic treatment of whatever condition you have. When you have these records in hand.. then research and find a pain clinic that is NOT the one you were referred to. This way you won’t be entering a doctor patient relationship that is already tainted before you get started. If your insurance requires referals,.. then you can have another doctor (ie: A GP/PCP) refer you. If you don’t have a GP/PCP, you can make an appointment with one,.. explain that you need a GP for everyday things and explain your pain condition and that you realize they likely don’t treat chronic pain patients and you need a referral to (insert the pain clinic you found nearby.. or mention a few) — Or just let them refer you to wherever they normally would.

So, yes.. your drug test results have a high probability of being in your records and seen by the referred doctor/clinic — but this doesn’t mean that place will refuse to take you on as a patient (they can) but it isn’t an absolute.. and further you can do a little work on your own to go to another clinic/doctor with a clean slate.

This isn’t against the law,.. or ‘sneaky’ behavior. You have to realize that despite the breach of their pain contract you still have a chronic medical condition and as such it deserves proper treatment. As such, a negative referral/medical history will often cause under-treatment of your condition which doesn’t help anyone.

In my experience the people who’s pain is treated adequately are much less likely to abuse their medications. It is/are the patients who are under-prescribed or prescribed inadequate types of medications for pain that “abuse” medicine. This is only natural as a person in pain, specifically pain that is daily and chronic (and not going away) is going to seek a way to lower it. It is human nature.

No human being “deserves” to be in pain if there is anything that can be done to help it.. regardless of a mistake. Many people just don’t understand this, but quickly change their minds if they end up in the unfortunate position of having to deal with a chronic pain condition.

Good luck,

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