Crackdown on drug hoarders

PATIENTS face being denied medicines under a crackdown on ‘‘hoarders’’ who are cheating taxpayers and draining the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Doctors have been urged by the Federal Government to push back against patients who appear to be stockpiling medicines or are exploiting a loophole to get cheaper drugs.

The Human Services Department has written to every doctor in the country, warning them of the fraud and that it may be rising.