doctor shop

or doc·tor-shop

[ dok-ter shop ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to obtain prescriptions for a controlled substance from more than one healthcare practitioner at a time:

   Some patients doctor shop in an attempt to score multiple prescriptions for painkillers.

   One theory about the celebrity’s fatal overdose is that the medication may have been doctor-shopped.

2. to visit one physician after another in search of a satisfactory one or a particular outcome:

   The patient appears to have schizophrenia, and to have doctor shopped for a diagnosis of autism.

Other Words From

• doc·tor shop·per doc·tor-shop·per noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of doctor shop¹

First recorded in 1970–75; back formation from doctor shopping ( def )

Example Sentences

"If we stay home as much as possible, and wear masks when we have to go to the doctor, shop for groceries or go for a hike, California can come out of this in a way that saves lives and puts us on a path toward economic recovery," Newsom previously said.

From Fox News

The former physician got an education from other inmates on the web of deception used by addicts to “doctor shop” in search of prescriptions using fake ID’s of changing one letter of a surname to bypass prescription monitoring programmes.

From The Guardian

We know too that the rich and the famous “doctor shop,” and that during the course of their travels, they can get doctors to write prescriptions and hide the truth from their life-sustaining audiences.

From Washington Times

Fields said the medical community recognizes the extent of the opiate addiction problem in the state and supports the law as a way to improve tracking of painkiller prescriptions and to identify patients who attempt to doctor shop to get more pills.

From Washington Times

Golden also questioned whether the safeguards cited by Coombs Lee are truly effective, noting that people who are depressed or being pressured to take their own lives can "doctor shop" until they find a physician willing to sign off on their lethal prescription.

From US News