A legislative policy that has a negative impact on nursing practice: The S.2134 and H.R.4241 Policies
The S.2134 and H.R.4241 is a law about opioid restrictions. This law affects nurses because nurses are the primary caregivers in hospitals and the community. Patients suffering from chronic pain and liver condition are always in a great deal of pain, and opioids help in relieving this pain. Due to recent research that the opioids are claiming the lives of many Americans, the government has banned the use of Zohydro ER; the only FDA approved opioid.
The bill has prohibited FDA from approving this drug unless it’s made in a way it will control abuse. This is an FDA approved drug which was helping nurses in doing their mandate to patients suffering from chronic diseases. This move by Congress is to sabotage the FDA. Nurses should be aware that Congress can also ban other approved drugs to settle political scores or for political gains.
Pain management givers have been promising patients of detox methods to nab pain. The need to balance pain management and addiction has made nurses and healthcare professionals to shy away from the opioid discussion. There has been public outcry due to a higher percentage of people dying from an opioid overdose. Since 2010, over 35 million Americans over the age of 12 have used this drug for non-medical reasons. The public must be alarmed when teenagers are abusing drugs at a high rate and in some cases leading to suicide or addiction.
Nurses and physicians have to care for patients and care for unique individuals in society. The government should have used more holistic measures to curb this problem. The law enforcement should go after mills that manufacture these pills illegally. Doctors have been charged with second-degree murder when connected to opioid-related deaths, and most of them had just prescribed them to particular patients with chronic pain.
When the government puts measures on care, then the inflexible regulations and narrow treatment protocols affect both patients and caregivers. The law should give people living with chronic injuries and pain special treatment and acknowledgment. This law has limited healthcare providers into prescribing not more than 100 mg per day and for no more than ninety days. Well, nurses are human beings, and they abide by rules. With time they will not even prescribe opioids for fear of making a mistake. They can be reprimanded, lose the license, get arrested, and also go to jail. The recommended guidelines have strict rules which are not easy to follow.
There are some conditions which are complicated and have multilevel problems. When doctors fail to remove the source of pain, then the patient is left in a great deal of pain. The opioid is the better medication to ensure the patient is living a quality life. Most of these patients are at high risk of overusing, overdosing, and even addiction because they take the opioids to reduce the constant pain. Drug overdose is a challenge in the nation that should be addressed. The government should also consider that opioids are a powerful tool that should not be taken away from people who deserve it. Both patients and nurses should be educated on how to use drugs. This legislative policy impacts nurses negatively. They will have to sit and watch their patients suffering, and they cannot do anything. These restrictions will hurt patients who are already in pain, and as they are hurting, their caregivers will also be distressing.