Raising the Question: Medication Mix-Up or Diversion

CASE: Max is an 8-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and long-standing challenges with sleep maintenance, the latter of which persist despite behavioral intervention and environmental modification. When Max wakes in the early morning hours, he tends to wander the house, which causes his mother to be awake to monitor his safety. Given the impact of Max's fragmented sleep on his functioning and that of his family, you begin a trial of gabapentin liquid to promote sleep maintenance. Soon after, Max's mother reports that he is sleeping through the night, for the first time in his life. Two months later, you receive a message from Max's mother requesting an early refill of his 90-day supply because of having spilled the bottle. You provide a new prescription, and Max's insurance company allows the early refill. Six weeks after that, Max's mother calls to say that she needs another gabapentin prescription because Max has run out. You confirm that she is giving the prescribed dose but are unsure as to why Max is out of medication weeks early. Given these events, you begin to question whether Max's gabapentin prescription is being diverted. What would you do next?
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics - Category: Child Development Tags: Challenging Case Source Type: research