FORGERY FOR DRUGS WARNING

FORGED prescriptions cost the Federal Government up to $20 million in
Victoria alone, pharmacists warn. They say up to 20,000 forged
prescriptions are exchanged for restricted drugs in this state every year.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia revealed the statistics yesterday
in a bid to tackle the alarming level of prescription forgery.

The Victorian branch of the industry body called for tighter controls on
blank prescription pads, urging the government to offer incentives for
chemists who detect and report cases. It also wants a Victoria Police
hotline for reports.

Federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge agreed forgery was a problem,
but said a plan to introduce bar codes on prescription forms would solve
many problems.

Dr Wooldridge said the bar codes would be introduced this year, with a
space for individual medical numbers.

He was responding to comments by society spokesman Irvine Newton, who said
blank prescription pads were stolen from doctors' surgeries or copied using
sophisticated computer scanners.

He said heroin addicts and other illegal drug users were the main culprits,
but organised crime could be involved in the trade.

Prescription pads were stolen in burglaries, but some people were faking
medical conditions to obtain the drugs.

By contrast, some doctors were writing prescriptions for drugs without
abiding by professional standards.