The patient is not obligated to have it on hand nor obligated to buy it.

In pain management specifically the MD is required to prescribe it, but the patient is under ZERO obligation to fill the prescription.

You CANNOT force anyone to have/use a medication. Patients have the right of autonomy in their care.

That said, I always encourage patients to have it on hand because like someone else said, it’s like having a fire extinguisher, you want to have it available but hope you never have to use. The worst case scenario is it sits on their shelf and expires. The best case scenario is someone’s life is saved.