Thwart drug seekers before they get into the exam room

Foiling the drug-seeking patient involves more than the physician. It’s a collaborative effort that’s a clinical and practice-management issue. Clinical and administrative staff members must work together, says Kenneth T. Hertz, a principal at MGMA Health Care Consulting Group in Alexandria, LA. “There must be training, policies, and procedures—and everybody must be ever-vigilant,” Hertz says. “You have to bring everyone in.”