Client Intake: Essential Pharmacy Questions Every Attorney Should Ask

Amar Lunagaria — Co-Founder & Chief Pharmacist, LienScripts | September 23, 2024 | 10 min read

The pharmacy questions you ask during client intake set the foundation for medication access, case documentation, and settlement preparation. Here are the essential questions every PI attorney should include in their intake process.

Client Intake: Essential Pharmacy Questions Every Attorney Should Ask

Client intake is the most consequential conversation in any personal injury case. The information gathered in those first interactions shapes your medical referral strategy, case evaluation, and treatment coordination for the entire case lifecycle. Yet most intake forms and processes include little or nothing about the client's pharmacy situation.

This is a missed opportunity. The pharmacy questions you ask at intake directly affect your client's medication access, your case documentation quality, and your settlement posture months down the road. Here are the questions every PI attorney should be asking — and why each one matters.

[!KEY] The pharmacy questions you skip at intake create problems you can't fix at settlement — ask about current medications, insurance status, and prior liens before the case opens, not after.

Category 1: Current Medication Status

"Are you currently taking any prescription medications?"

This is the baseline question. You need to know what the client is already taking before they began treatment for the accident-related injuries. This information serves multiple purposes:

• Distinguishes pre-existing medications from accident-related prescriptions — Critical for the defense that will argue medications are related to pre-existing conditions rather than the accident
• Identifies potential drug interactions — Important for coordinating with the treating physician
• Establishes the baseline for treatment escalation — If the client was taking OTC ibuprofen before the accident and progresses to prescription pain medication after, the escalation supports injury severity

"Who prescribed your current medications?"

Knowing the prescribing physicians helps you coordinate care and avoid confusion between pre-existing treatment providers and accident-related providers. It also helps identify all providers who may need to be contacted for records.

"Where do you currently fill your prescriptions?"

Understanding the client's current pharmacy helps you assess whether they need to be enrolled in a lien-based pharmacy program or whether their existing pharmacy situation is adequate for case purposes. If they use a retail pharmacy and pay with insurance, there may be subrogation implications.

Category 2: Insurance and Payment

"Do you have health insurance that covers prescription medications?"

This question has significant strategic implications:

• If yes: The client may be able to use insurance for some medications, but this creates subrogation rights that must be managed. Using insurance also means co-pays and deductibles that reduce the client's recovery.
• If no: The client will need an alternative payment mechanism for accident-related prescriptions. Without a pharmacy benefit program, the client may skip medications entirely — creating treatment gaps that damage the case.
• If partially: Some medications may be covered while others are not. Understanding the coverage gaps helps you plan.

"Can you afford to pay for prescription medications out of pocket right now?"

Many clients are in financial distress after an accident, especially if they have missed work. Direct questions about affordability help you identify clients who need immediate enrollment in a zero upfront cost pharmacy program to ensure they receive prescribed medications.

"Have you already paid for any prescriptions related to this accident?"

Out-of-pocket expenses paid before the client retained you are recoverable damages. Document these expenses immediately — receipt amounts, pharmacy names, dates, and medications. These costs should be included in the demand as special damages.

Category 3: Medical History and Allergies

"Do you have any known drug allergies?"

This is a patient safety question that your pharmacy provider needs to know. Drug allergy information should be communicated to the treating physician and the dispensing pharmacy. Common allergy classes include:

• Sulfa drugs
• Penicillin and related antibiotics
• NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen)
• Codeine or other opioids
• Specific medication allergies

"Have you had any adverse reactions to medications in the past?"

Adverse reactions short of true allergies are also important. A client who experienced severe GI side effects from a particular NSAID should not be prescribed that medication again. This information helps the treating physician select the most appropriate treatment and prevents compliance problems.

"Do you have any chronic conditions that might affect your medication options?"

Certain conditions affect which medications can be safely prescribed:

• Liver disease limits many pain medication options
• Kidney disease affects dosing of numerous drugs
• GI conditions may contraindicate certain NSAIDs
• Cardiac conditions may limit NSAID and muscle relaxant options
• Mental health conditions may create interaction risks with pain medications

This medical history should be shared with both the treating physician and the pharmacy provider. It is also relevant to the clinical narrative documentation that will support the medication regimen. See our guide on clinical narratives and medical necessity.

Category 4: Treatment Compliance

[!TIP] Asking about prior non-compliance at intake is not accusatory — it is essential, because gaps before the attorney-client relationship began need to be documented and explained before they appear in the defense's case analysis.

"Have you been prescribed any medications that you did not fill or stopped taking?"

Non-compliance before the client reaches your office is common and understandable — they may not have been able to afford the medications, may have experienced side effects, or may not have understood the importance of consistent treatment. Identifying these gaps early allows you to:

• Address barriers to compliance (usually cost)
• Document the gaps and the reasons for them
• Restart a consistent medication regimen going forward
• Prepare for defense arguments about gaps in the treatment record

[!KEY] A client who admits at intake that they did not fill prescribed medications because of cost has given you the defense's most potent attack vector before it appears in the record — document the financial reason for the gap in your intake notes so you can rebut a "injuries not severe enough to seek treatment" argument with documented evidence of the real cause.

"Are you comfortable taking prescription medications as directed?"

Some clients have philosophical objections to certain medications (particularly pain medications) or have a history of substance use that makes them reluctant to take controlled substances. Understanding these preferences early helps you coordinate with the treating physician to develop a medication plan the client will actually follow.

Category 5: Pharmacy Enrollment

"Would you like to be enrolled in a pharmacy benefit program that provides your accident-related medications at no upfront cost?"

This question introduces the pharmacy benefit program concept. Explain clearly:

• Medications will be provided with no out-of-pocket cost to the client
• The costs will be recovered from the settlement as a lien
• The client will receive all prescribed medications through a single provider
• Complete documentation will be maintained for the case

For guidance on explaining these programs, see our article on zero upfront cost prescriptions.

"Do you have a preferred pharmacy for medications not related to this accident?"

Maintaining the client's existing pharmacy relationship for non-accident medications avoids disruption and ensures that the lien-based program only covers case-related prescriptions — which simplifies settlement allocation.

Building the Intake Form

Here is a template section you can add to your existing client intake form:

Pharmacy and Medication Information

1. Current prescription medications (list all): _______________
2. Prescribing physician(s): _______________
3. Current pharmacy: _______________
4. Health insurance covering prescriptions? Yes / No / Partial
5. Can you afford prescriptions out of pocket? Yes / No
6. Out-of-pocket pharmacy expenses since the accident: $___________
7. Known drug allergies: _______________
8. Previous adverse medication reactions: _______________
9. Chronic conditions affecting medication: _______________
10. Any prescribed medications not filled or discontinued? _______________
11. Interested in zero-upfront-cost pharmacy benefit program? Yes / No

What Happens After Intake

Once you have gathered this information, the next steps are:

1. Enroll the client in your pharmacy benefit program (same day if possible)
2. Communicate medication history and allergies to the treating physician
3. Document all pre-intake pharmacy expenses for the demand package
4. Set up medication compliance monitoring to identify any future gaps early

These intake actions form the foundation of the pre-litigation medication strategy that will support your case through settlement.

The Business Case for Better Intake

Attorneys who include pharmacy questions in their intake process report several benefits:

• Faster enrollment means fewer treatment gaps and stronger case documentation
• Better client relationships because medication access is addressed from day one
• Higher settlement values because pharmacy documentation supports the demand
• Smoother settlement disbursement because pharmacy costs are documented and expected

The five minutes it takes to ask these questions saves hours of work at settlement and potentially thousands of dollars for your client.

[!KEY] The drug allergy and adverse reaction questions at intake are not just safety questions — when a treating physician later documents a non-standard medication choice because of documented allergy to a first-line agent, that prescription record supports both medical necessity and the clinical complexity of your case.

Learn how LienScripts integrates with your intake process.

Related Resources

• Pre-Litigation Medication Strategy — Building on the intake foundation
• Treatment Gaps and Medication Access — Why continuous access matters
• Zero Upfront Cost Prescriptions — How lien-based pharmacy access works
• 5 Pharmacy Lien Mistakes Attorneys Make — Including intake-related errors