1561 W 7000 S, Suite 201, West Jordan, UT
Phone: (801) 569-2696 | Fax: (801) 528-6558

Narcotic Policy

At Foot and Ankle Specialists, our office policy on the use and prescription of narcotic medications has been developed with patient safety in mind. We recognize that ailments affecting the foot and ankle can be painful. We strive to help our patients to be as comfortable as possible while also seeking to balance that with a safe narcotic prescription policy. While effective in relieving pain, narcotic medications are also highly addictive and can lead to serious side effects if not used properly. Therefore, the use of narcotic medications requires careful oversight. To that end, our narcotic prescription policy is as follows:
 
  • We anticipate narcotic pain medication to be used for short-term relief of pain related to an injury and/or surgery. Narcotics will be prescribed, as appropriate, at the discretion of our providers for a reasonable period following an injury or surgery. The reasonable duration of use is at the discretion of our doctors.
  • We do not treat chronic pain (pain lasting greater than 90 days). Consequently, narcotic prescriptions will not be given beyond 90 days. If chronic pain management is needed beyond 90 days, then a referral to a pain clinic will be provided rather than a prescription for narcotics.
  • For our patients’ safety, we evaluate each patient’s situation and develop a pain management plan that considers all available pain relief options, including rest and immobilization, ice and elevation, physical therapy, non-narcotic pain medication, behavioral healthcare, chiropractic care, and surgery when indicated.
  • Patients who are prescribed narcotics must sign a Patient Provider Agreement. In addition, we reserve the right to require periodic random urine or blood testing for drugs, including illegal or unauthorized prescription drugs. This helps to ensure that our patients are safe and that we are in compliance with the Utah’s strict prescribing guidelines.
  • New patients to our clinic who report chronic pain or who have been prescribed narcotic pain medication by other doctors will be carefully evaluated to determine the best course of treatment. Therefore, we ask new patients to understand that previous use of narcotic pain medication does not guarantee these medications will automatically be prescribed or renewed by our clinic.
  • Narcotic requests may take up to 48 hours to fill. Requests made on Friday may not be evaluated until the following week.
  • Requests for narcotic prescriptions must be made during regularly scheduled office hours. Requests made on weekends, holidays, or after business hours will not be considered until the next business day. If you anticipate running out of your prescription over one of these time periods you must contact our office beforehand.
  • The State of Utah maintains a database of prescriptions for all controlled substances. State law requires us to check that database for all patients receiving a prescription for a controlled substance.  We reserve the right to deny requests for narcotic medications based upon our review of the information contained in that database. 
  • Utah State law requires a physical prescription for all Schedule II narcotics such as Percocet and Norco; these cannot be “called out” to your pharmacy. We reserve the right to require an office visit to refill all Schedule II and schedule III prescriptions.
  • Narcotics will not be prescribed to any patient who has demonstrated abuse of prescription pain medication, deception, or dishonesty with respect to narcotic prescriptions.
  • In the event of documented narcotic abuse, we reserve the right to discharge a patient from care and to report such individuals to appropriate state and local law enforcement authorities.
  • Patients felt to be at risk for withdrawal from chronic narcotic use may be counseled to seek care at a drug detox center.
  • If you are under the supervision of a pain management physician, we expect you to disclose this information to us on your first visit. Failure to do so could violate violate your contract with that pain management clinic.
  • If you currently receive prescriptions for narcotics from a pain management physician, you will need to receive your post-operative pain medicine from that physician, unless pre-arranged with us prior to your surgery.
 
If you have any questions regarding our office policy on the use of narcotics, feel free to contact us so that we can discuss it. In addition, if you feel you need help with long-term (chronic) pain control, we will be happy to guide you to a pain management specialist. You will be asked to indicate that you have read the above information and understand our narcotic pain medication policy by signing a separate form. Again, our concern is to provide you with the best possible results.