Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Assignment: Show You Care

Instructions
Develop, in detail, a situation in which a health care worker might be confronted with ethical problems related to patients and prescription drug use OR patients in a state of poverty.

ermalink: 
• Each scenario must be original to you and this assignment. It cannot be from the discussion boards in this class or any other previous forum.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay
• Articulate (and then assess) the ethical solutions that can found using “care” (care-based ethics) and “rights” ethics to those problems.
• Assessment must ask if the solutions are flawed, practicable, persuasive, etc.
• What health care technology is involved in the situation?What moral guidelines for using that kind of healthcare technology should be used there? Explore such guidelines also using utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, ethical egoism, or social contract ethics.

• Say how social technologies such as blogs, crowdfunding, online encyclopedias can be used in either case. What moral guidelines for using that kind of healthcare technology should be used there? Develop such guidelines also using utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, ethical egoism, or social contract ethics.
You should not be using any text you used in a discussion board or assignment for this class or any previous class.
Cite the textbook “ the elements of moral philosophy by James Rachels 9 edition” and incorporate outside sources, including citations.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
• Length: 3-4 pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page (minimum of 2 scholarly sources)Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

With access to prescription drugs, people are able to treat a multitude of diseases and illnesses. These drugs help deal with pain, inability to sleep, depression, and much more. Every day we are increasingly living in a world where there is better living through chemicals. However, what most do not seem to see is the rising tide of pain, illness, and ultimately death being caused by the pills people take every day. Most keep drugs in a special place in their minds, where they see them as harmless. Sadly, this is not the case, and in some cases our prescription drugs can be just as harmful as illegal drugs (King 68). In addition, these drugs are just as addicting as some of the drugs that most hold to be off-limits, and need to be…show more content…
Opioid drugs are some of the most widespread pain medications that we have in this country; indeed, the fact is that opioid analgesic prescriptions have increased by over 300% from 1999 to 2010 (Mitch 989). Consequently, the number of deaths from overdose increased from 4000 to 16,600 a year in the same time frame (Mitch 989). This fact becomes even more frightening when you think about today; the annual number of fatal drug overdoses in the Unites States now surpasses that of motor vehicle deaths (Alexander 1865). Even worse, overdose deaths caused by opioids specifically exceed those attributed to both cocaine and heroin combined (Alexander 1865). While our major access to these drugs is doctors, we cannot simply lay blame on them, as there is not enough knowledge about these treatments to correctly appropriate drugs, and therefore extra is given (Hemphill 373). Alexander of the Department of Epidemiology of the Journal of the American Medical Association, states that “There are serious gaps in the knowledge base regarding opioid use for other chronic nonmalignant pain” (Alexander 1865-1866), which leads to the unfortunately large number of leftover drugs. In fact, the main place that people get their drugs are from leftover prescriptions (Hemphill 373). This leads to a bigger problem for our youth, where 81% of OTC drug abusers also end up using marijuana and hallucinogens (King 68). Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

The prescription drug abuse epidemic has invaded the US culture, creating a new generation of addicts. Lately the problem has grown to epic proportions, leading to a new wave of heroin addiction in America. Different moves have been made to handle the situation, some are more or less effective. Though, the reality shows the problem doesn’t seem to be resolving.

15,000 people die from prescription drugs overdose yearly, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports. And over 20% of Americans have misused prescription drugs at least once. These drugs include benzos and opioids like OxyContin, Xanax, Vicodin, Valium, Percocet, etc. Such pills are easy to get and can be found in every home medicine chest. It’s commonly thought that they are harmless, because of being prescribed by a doctor. And so the addiction creeps on trustful victims.

The prescription drugs are used against chronic and acute pain. When a person becomes addicted, he or she may eventually switch to street heroin, which is less expensive and easier to get.

Many patients do not realize that drugs prescribed by the doctor are not only highly addictive, but can be lethal either. That’s another reason more education is needed.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

The epidemic of drug addiction can be partly explained by the abuse of opiate painkillers. Other factors are connected with a plague of loneliness and social isolation in modern life. They cause anxiety and force people to treat mental anguish with drugs.

Among the actions taken to solve this problem, it is worth mentioning that the 2016 budget of the White House greatly focuses on prescription drug addiction. It includes measures for reducing drug overdoses in the USA. Agencies like the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Administration and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will get increased program funding in order to maintain control over the problem. For the 2015 fiscal year federal funding has supported medication-assisted treatment for opioid use grants in 22 states. The new budget is going to increase that number to 45.

The Obama administration promised to increase access to drug treatment and support the training of doctors who prescribe opiates. Some states will get aid to develop their prescription drug monitoring programs, which will allow better tracking of “pill mills” and “doctor shoppers”. Also a wide distribution of naloxone is needed as this drug can save lives by reversing the opioid abuse effects.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

The budget summary document states, that more than 100 people die because of drug overdose every day, about 6,700 people are treated in emergency departments. Prescription drugs and heroin abuse are urgent public health concerns.

It appears the rising rates of drug abuse deaths and suicides have eliminated the benefits from advances in medical treatment. These rates “are running counter to those of chronic diseases, like heart disease,” said Ian Rockett, an epidemiologist at West Virginia University.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

A drug related topic that I wanted to research more is that of prescription drug abuse. The reason for my choice is that I have learned that addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. Therefore, I wanted to learn more about this issue that has a reaching impact across all ages and socio-economical classes.
The first thing that I discovered, that was the alarming, was the magnitude of prescriptions drug abuse. Some of the staggering statistics that I found from the Truth for America’s Health report indicate that prescription drug poisoning deaths surpassed traffic-related crashes as the leading cause of injury death in the United States in 2009. As wee, 50 Americans die from prescription painkiller overdoses each day and that prescription painkillers are responsible for more than 475,000 emergency department visits a year. Furthermore, 70,000 children go to the emergency department due to medication poisoning every year because of prescription drug use that was intended for adults (Levi, 2013, p. 3-6).Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay
I found these statistic staggering. However, it made sense because prescription drug use flies under the radar and they are readily available. As well, they are medications, which are use to initially used to treat medical conditions. However, due to maladaptive risk factors, environmental factors, and the afore mentioned accessibility abuse use runs ramped. Additionally, I found very interesting notion from that National Institute on Drug Abuse that asserts that the elderly individuals are more likely to be long-term and multiple prescriptions abusers. They go further to say the reason is because of mental decline and out of financial necessity because of the high cost of healthcare.

… abuse the issuing of prescriptions medications. Additionally, because of the grasp and scope that prescription drug abuse has communities are implementing better educational programs and resources that can help individuals managing the disorder.
As I suspected, prescription drug abuse is vast problem. I am glad that I had the opportunity to see how big the issue is and the effects this type of addiction has. I feel that as a counselor, I will use heavy educational material along with a strong solution focused based approach to help individuals gain a better grasp on their disorder.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Prescription drug are drugs used locally to treat people of various illnesses and disorders (Wolny,6), when these drugs are used illegally or without following prescribed instructions, these drugs will be abused. Illegal prescription of drugs is biggest health problem in not only United States but also Europe and other parts of the world. Prescription drug abuse occurs in all socio-economic and ethnic groups and nobody is immune of these drugs.

Prescription drug abuse causes series of health problems, which may include irritation, restlessness, and increased rate of nausea, terrible mood swings and other minor ailments. Furthermore, greater use of abused drugs causes major problems including changes in brain activity, body physiological changes and in some circumstances leads to death.(Wolny 6). Prescription drug abuse is illegal, anybody found selling of those drugs is prosecuted.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Types of prescription drug abuse
Abused prescription drugs include depressants, stimulants, antidepressants, opioids and morphine derivatives. There many types of depressant drugs that have been abused for instance, Xanax, valium, Librium, amytal, Nembutal and other drugs. These drugs vary in their names and sizes. Opioids and morphine derivatives are drugs that are used to relieve the nervous system. They are mostly known as painkillers. They are in different forms e.g. liquid, tablets or capsules.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

These drugs are most abused. Apart from morphine derivatives and depressants, stimulants are mostly used drugs. They increase alertness andenergy; stimulants also increase heartbeat, increase blood pressure, and increase the rate of breathing. When used for long time these drugs causehabit and the users cannot live without using them. In most instances, depressants appear as liquid and tablets, but can also appear as capsules. Another category of abused drugs is antidepressants. These include Prozac, Paxil, celexa and others. These drugs are mainly used to handle depression.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Effect of prescription drug abuse
Prescription drug abuse are associated with many effects both long terms and short term effects. Depressants causes many short term effects, including, slow brain function, dizziness, fever, confusion, slow pulse and breathing, poor concentration, addition, sluggishness, lack of coordination, lowered blood pressure and depression. High doses of depressants cause memory impairment, paranoia, irritability and poor coordination. Heavy use of sedatives and tranquilizer slow breath and rate of heart beat and even lead to death.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Heavy use of depressants lead to long term effects including depression, breathing problems, chronic fatigued, sexual problems and sleeping disorders. Continued use of these drugs causes dependency that increases cravings, panic and anxiety if user cannot get more. When addicted user withdraws from depressants, they get insomnia, nausea and body weakness. For the high users, withdrawal leads to detrimental effects such as high body temperatures, agitation, hallucination, convulsion and delirium. (Roberts,10) In addition, increase use of depressants can increase risk of high blood sugar, diabetes and weight. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) antipsychotic drug, a depressant, caused liver failure, heart problems and increased suicide cases.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Opioids and morphine derivatives, also known as painkillers have many short term and long term effects that are detrimental to human health. The short-term effects of these drugs include drowsiness, slowed breathing, constipation, unconsciousness, coma and nausea. Continued use or long term use of drugs lead to physical dependence and addition. Long-term use of these drugs leads to body adaptation to these drugs and withdrawal leads to effects such as restlessness, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, muscle pain and bone pain. In addition, continued use of morphine drugs lead to body tolerance, this means that body cannot function without increased amount of dose to achieve desired high effect, this leads to addiction which lead to high problems like stealing. Opioids and morphine drugs can cause death when use in high doses. (Compton, Wilson &Noran, 20-30)Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Depressants are most common abused prescription drug, user of stimulants cause depression, exhaustion and apathy. Stimulants cause addition, the user feel weak and long lasting exhaustion, this means that the user must always use these drugs to feel the energy. The long-term effects of stimulants are feeling of hostility or paranoia. High doses of stimulant may result in irregular breathing and high body temperatures. In addition, most stimulants also lead to headache, increased heartbeat as well as muscle weakness.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Antidepressant drugs are widely used and have high range of effects. The short-term effects of antidepressants are irritability, insomnia, violent actions and thoughts, nervousness or anxiety, hostility, tremors and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, antidepressants causes sweating, confusion and incoherent thoughts, psychosis, aggression, hallucinations, and paranoia. High doses of antidepressants lead to heart problems, liver failure, kidney failures and even death. The withdrawal symptoms of antidepressants are headaches, vomiting, insomnia, aggression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and tremors. Antidepressants increase addition when use and increase dependence. Also, antidepressants alters all boding functions and increases aggression especially to young people. (Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 3-10)Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Solution to prescription drug abuse
Getting solutions to prescription drug abuse is not an easy task; it needs combination of approaches and measures to tame this pandemic. The U.S Center for Disease and Prevention declared drug abuse as national pandemic, CDC further says that many lives and thousands of dollars are use every year. Therefore, prescription drug abuse needs formidable solutions and those solutions must be able to control the spread of prescription drug abuse. Some of the prosed solutions are, first, government must develop prescription-monitoring program, this programs should control and monitor drug prescriptions and ensure that all the drugs are clearly prescribe before use.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Importantly, the government must ensure that this program is funded and supported, monitoring program will be able to manage production and sell of drugs. Secondly, enact good legislative framework to govern prescription drugs, this legislative framework will assist clinicians adequately use prescription monitoring program. Legislation will enable the Food and Drugs authority and CDC to manage production and sale of genuine drugs. Good legislative framework also describe penalties and strict measure for those found producing, selling and even using prescription drugs abuse. Important, the government must not support the enforcement of legislations. (Estren, 24-37)Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Thirdly, negotiate and facilitate data sharing, data sharing between different states and regions to curb drug trafficking. Different states must ensure that there is communication and information sharing within the concern departments. The data sharing include information on type of illegal prescription illegal, information of drug trafficking and information of stores and main sources of drug abuse. (Estren, 24-37)Information sharing include laws and regulations.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

The negotiation and data sharing between different departments is important, this communication will enhance enforcement of necessary legislations. This is importantly because the police and law enforcement officers will use laws to curb spread of abused drugs. Another important solution to prescription drug abuse is requiring doctors and health care department to create database to record and track patient prescription. This is important because it will enable other doctors in future to follow patients’ drug use. In addition, creating a database will enable the doctor to know whether other doctors had prescribed the drug earlier.

For instance when doctors give patient prescription for a painkiller like OxyContin, the doctor could consult the database to see whether it had been prescribe earlier. Another important solution to prescription drug abuse is educating both patients and doctors, the patients must be thought about the importance of keeping the required prescription and importance of safeguarding the drugs. The patients need to understand the importance of safekeeping the drugs away from children. The doctors need to understand importance of basing prescriptions on scientific knowledge and not patient satisfaction.(Estren, 24-37)Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay

Conclusion
Prescription drug abuse is using drugs in inappropriate manner without following the requiredprescriptions; this phenomenon is national disaster and needs immediate redress. There are many effects of prescription drug abuse; some are long term while others are short term. The types of prescribe drug abuse range from antidepressants to stimulants. Prescription drug abuse needs immediate solution that will address issues to its conclusive end.Patients And Prescription Drug Use Essay