You are preparing to discharge a 43-year-old male patient who has received treatment for a fracture of the right tibia. You provide the patient with a prescription for a narcotic analgesic to be used as needed for pain, along with information about the medication. The patient states, “I don’t need the prescription. My cousin just had surgery and didn’t take all of his pain medicine. I can just use his. That will be cheaper for me, anyway, since I don’t have insurance.”
1. a. Discuss the legal and therapeutic implications related to the patient taking narcotic analgesics that have been prescribed for another person.
b. With these implications in mind, how should you respond to the patient?
2. How should you respond to the patient’s concern about the cost of his medication?
This nursing scenario asks you to respond to a patient who plans to take a narcotic analgesic prescribed to his cousin, and who raises a cost concern. Address the legal and therapeutic implications, how to respond therapeutically, and the cost issue — grounded in patient safety and professional responsibility.
Key takeaways
- Taking another person’s prescription is illegal and clinically unsafe.
- Explain both the legal (controlled-substance law) and therapeutic (wrong dose, interactions, no monitoring) implications.
- Respond with patient education and empathy, not judgment.
- Address the cost concern with real resources, not dismissal.
- Frame the whole response around safety and the nurse’s duty.
Legal and therapeutic implications
Legal: narcotic analgesics are controlled substances; using medication prescribed to someone else is illegal (diversion), and sharing them is also unlawful for the cousin. Therapeutic: the dose, drug, and quantity were tailored to the cousin, not this patient — risking inadequate pain control or overdose, dangerous interactions with his other conditions/medications, no provider oversight, and masked complications of his tibia fracture.
How to respond to the patient
Respond with respectful patient education: explain, without lecturing, that taking his cousin’s medication is unsafe and illegal, and why his own prescription is dosed specifically for him and his recovery. Confirm his understanding and invite questions. The tone should preserve trust so he actually follows safe advice.
Addressing the cost concern
Take the cost worry seriously — it’s the real barrier. Offer practical options: generic equivalents, pharmacy discount or patient-assistance programs, prescription savings cards, discussing a lower-cost alternative with the prescriber, and community/sliding-scale resources for the uninsured. Problem-solving the cost makes safe behavior feasible.
Format
Structure your answer by the questions (implications → response → cost), and cite nursing/pharmacology sources as required.