CNN stated, “One person dies every 19 minutes from a prescription drug overdose in the United States.” In an effort to combat misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, the Food and Drug Administration is proposing new restrictions that would change the rules for some normally prescribed narcotic painkillers (Bentz).
The increase of addiction to prescription drugs has increased over the past few years. As a result the amount of pharmacy robberies has amplified as well. Certain patients are going to multiple physicians in order to get controlled prescriptions; this is called “doctor shopping.” They are then filling the prescriptions at different pharmacies by paying “out of pocket,” without insurance. Filling prescriptions without insurance and at different pharmacies allows patients to get the medications more frequently. Insurance companies usually limit people from filling prescriptions early (before their medication runs out). It has been too simple to get control prescriptions from doctors in this day and age. Physicians have been arrested for writing narcotic prescriptions unnecessarily and too easily. Some patients even steal prescription pads from the doctor’s offices, in order to write their own prescriptions for controlled medications. It is the pharmacist’s role to spot these “fake” prescriptions. This is a vicious cycle and it needs to be stopped.
Finally in 2012, a law named the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP) was signed in New York to help crack down on prescription drug abuse. The I-STOP law includes a series of requirements to revamp the way prescription drugs are distributed and tracked in New York. Physicians will have to check the registry for a patient’s prescription history. The I-STOP repo...
... middle of paper ...
...em is already helping to fight Long Island's pain pill abuse epidemic and imparting doctors and pharmacists with knowledge they never had access to before. Three doctors called me today who discharged patients after they learned that the patients were doctor shopping because of I-STOP, so I'd say the system is working out pretty well so far” (Deutsch).
Putting a stop to this situation puts us one step closer to decreasing the numbers of deaths caused by the prescription drug abuse epidemic. It has taken the lives of so many and we cannot sit back and let this continue to occur. This law will allow doctors and pharmacists to access the information they need to make sure that dangerous prescription drugs stay out of the wrong hands. With the new system and the increased amount of drug abuse programs there are, hopefully people can kick the habit get their lives back.
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.
Various pharmaceutical companies are resisting the changes by lobbying against the legislation that requires a prescription. This was the second most disturbing part of the video to me because these companies care far more about money and profits than the wellbeing and safety of the American people. This documentary offers a plan of action to take in reducing the number of meth related crimes and incidents in the United States. Other states should follow Oregon’s model by making legislation that
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
“Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the F.D.A. 's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said people are being harmed and some of the harm is preventable ' ' (Le Fanu, 2014). With millions of drugs on the market, and with multiple drugs just for one ailment, it wouldn’t take much to cause a wrong combination that could cause injury or death. Hospitals across the U.S. reported in 2011 adverse reactions from prescription drugs caused 2.2 million injuries and 106,000 deaths that two-thirds could have been prevented with proper monitoring of prescription drugs. (Bremner,
Fatal complications occur from regular use, for example, liver damage, seizures, elevated blood pressure causing stroke, heart failure, or heart attack. Another growing fad in the United States is the abuse of prescription drugs. The abuse is being done by not only adults, but by teens. The most current trend today is the misuse of cough syrups and prescription medications to produce a “high.” Other medications abused today are stimulants (Ritalin), and benzodiazepines (Xanax).
To do this, instead of only one medical doctor writing a prescription, the government should make the policy where the patient has to be seen and diagnosed by two, non-biased medical doctors. The government should also, make a requirement in medical school for longer more intensive training on the effects of medications and the signs of drug abuse. If the patient is in fact diagnosed by two doctors, then the patient every appointment after to get a refill of medication, should have to get there blood taken to ensure they are actually taking them, rather then selling
Attention getter: As quoted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an average of three Oregonians dies every week from prescription opioid overdose, and many more develop opioid use disorder.
The repeated use of drugs often causes both physical and psychological dependence, as mentioned in an article by the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (“Drug Dependence”). In order for an individual to truly be set free from their addiction, seeking treatment is necessary. Rehab centers are a great place with scientifically proven methods to cure those addicted to drugs. It is important to try to end drug use in our country, rather than allowing it to continue longer than it already has. While funding for rehabilitation facilities could become an issue, drug users may continue their addiction without proper treatment, and therefore those arrested for drug use should be sent to a rehabilitation center instead of prison.
departments began to commit to a better public health approach with numerous policy recommendations, statutory actions, public health interventions, and various laws that regulate pain management clinics being implemented. As states adapted to policy clinical guidelines for pain care and opioid prescribing, they were soon introduced to state prescription drug monitoring programs, which would ultimately discontinue prescription opioids when patients show signs of poorly controlled or no physical, functional, or improvement in opioid treatment. The implementation of drug monitoring programs decreased patients who may be at risk for drug misuse or addiction, by helping healthcare professionals to intervene at an early
Gandey, Allison. “New National Drug Control Policy Includes More Prescription Monitoring.” Medscape Today. Web MD, 7 May 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. .
Doctors and pharmacist plays a major role in responsibilities towards this issue. By being aware and by giving knowledge to both the prescribers and the patients this problem could be solved. According to the National Institutes of Health, these addictions contribute to more than 100,000 deaths per year in the United States ("Addiction."). According to Milan Stojanovic, an anesthesiologist “There is a huge amount of abuse of these medications, all over the country and it starts with someone, somewhere writing a prescription” (qtd. in Devi 474).
According to the guidelines under the DFWA, any grant or federal funded organization must update their current policies to implement the drug free workplace requirements as well as develop awareness programs which address the potential use of dr...
West Virginia has one of the highest rates for prescription drug abuse, and overdose in the nation. In order to change this it is important to understand what pharmacists do, their role in prevention, and the severity of prescription drug abuse. Pharmacists are known to dispense prescription drugs to patients and inform them about their use; However, one aspect of their career most people overlook is that Pharmacists must keep a sharp eye out for criminals looking to abuse these prescribed drugs.