Vicodin is a powerful drug.  It has the power to help chronic pain patients and the power to hook you into a dangerous habit.

“If we can’t help you here, we don’t want to hurt you,” Power Center Pharmacist Matt Rogers said

So these days, local pharmacists are constantly on the lookout for questionable prescriptions to try to keep patients safe.

“There’s now a pain clinic on every other corner, and we’re just not going to fill those. Most of the time they just don’t have a doctor there writing the prescriptions,” Medicine Man Pharmacist Ilene Elkins said.

Many Houston pharmacists say when they get a prescription from a pain management clinic, they’re not filling it.

The pharmacies are getting a lot of calls for certain pills as pain clinics look for new pill suppliers.

11 News

“Vicodin, hydrocodone, which is the generic of Vicodin, Xanex …,” Rogers said. “We get three to five calls a day from pain management clinics asking do we take, to we carry specific drugs.”

Rogers tells the clinics no.  He says he doesn’t even want to get involved.

“We don’t even stock the drugs. We can’t be of any assistance to them at all,” he said.

The situation makes it tough on legitimate patients – and legitimate pain clinics.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation. I wish something could be done,” Rogers said.

Ilene Elkins is taking a hands-on approach to treating the problem.

“I’m just not going to fill anything that says ‘pain clinics,’” Elkins said.

No one at the local pain management clinics wanted to talk to 11 News about the issue on camera, but one clinic said they have a hard time getting their prescriptions filled, so they send patients to a preferred pharmacy.  They tell them to go early because the pharmacy runs out of the meds.