Drug Dependency Issues Related To Opioids
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Drug Dependency Issues Related To Opioids
Overview of the Issue
Drug abuse is an issue that plagues many societies around the world. Opioid abuse is a common issue in America that is believed to have begun in the late 1990s (NIH, 2020). Pharmaceutical companies passed assurance messages to healthcare providers that opioids are not addictive which led to the widespread adoption of the greater prescription rates (NIH, 2020). As a result, there was the development of high rates of misuse among users especially for pain management which revealed the widespread growth of opioid dependency (Morone & Weiner, 2013). Subsequently, there were increased reports of opioid overdose deaths in America. As a result, as of 2020, about 29% of opioid prescription patients misuse the drug (NIH, 2020).To the public health department, this shows an increased number of cases relating to opioid dependency especially in pregnant women known as neonatal opioid withdrawal symptoms (NIH, 2020). Additionally, the use of injections to administer the drug among abusers has led to increased rates of HIV infections and Hepatitis C. (NIH, 2020).
Facts and Statistics
Since 1999, the number of opioid-related drug overdoses has risen by a factor of six times (CDC, 2020). About 6% of opioid abusers transition to using harder drugs especially heroin (NIH, 2020). As a result, 80% of heroin users abused opioids as an entry-level drug in their earlier addiction days (NIH, 2020). With a period of one year – from July 2016 to September 2017 – 45 states in America reported a 30% increase in opioid overdose cases (NIH, 2020). As of 2018, an average of about 125 people died from opioid overdose daily (NIH, 2020). As a result, in 2018 alone, there were 46,802 cases of opioid overdose deaths in the US (NIH, 2020). In total, about 1.7 million people in America were affected by an opioid overdose-related medical issue (NIH, 2020). In the Midwestern area of the US, there was a dramatic increase in opioid misuse of 70% in the period 2017-2018 (Vivolo-Kantor & Seth, 2018). As such, there is a need to evaluate the current measures in place to prevent and deal with this issue. If necessary, new measures have to be put in place.
Compelling Case
Ann Marie is a mother who lost her 22-year-old son, Christopher, to opioid addiction (CDC, 2020b). Christopher was a rising star in baseball and enjoyed close cordial relations with his sister and mother. At the age of 20 years, Christopher was involved in a road crash which led to a back injury requiring opioids for pain medication. Christopher was prescribed one pill per day which gradually increased. The increase in tolerance levels to the drug led him to take about 25 pills per day. To keep up with the intake, Christopher sought other doctors who prescribed more opioids for his use. His behavior changed gradually and he lost interest in the things that he worked hard to attain. Additionally, he exhibited other behavioral changes that include increased aggressiveness and lack of sleep. Often, he would not go home at night leaving his mother and sister worried. His poor behavior led him to be kicked out of various treatment facilities for the condition. This made him intensify his uptake of the medication. Two years into the first prescription of opioids, he overdosed and died.
Recommendations
One of the existing strategies is the use of programs to control the prescription of medication. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) is a program by states that are used to electronically monitor prescriptions of controlled drugs in the US (CDC, 2020c). Some of the findings on PDMP reveal changes in prescription habits, a decrease in admissions for substance abuse, and the use of multiple providers by patients to get prescriptions (CDC, 2020c). As such, the program is proving to be a vital resource in the provision of data for monitoring purposes. There is a need to implement the program on a wider level. This involves the adoption of the programs at the national, state, and local level to enable healthcare providers to have a universal view of patients. This includes present and past medications in real-time. To support it, there is a need to use policies that require prescribers to have an analysis of the patients by using PDMP before prescribing medication.
References
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2020). America’s Drug Overdose Epidemic: Data to Action. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/prescription-drug-overdose/index.html
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2020b). Real Stories: Ann Marie. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/rxawareness/stories/annmarie.html
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2020c). What States Need to Know about PDMPs. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdmp/states.html
Morone, N. E., Weiner, D. K. (2013). Pain as the fifth vital sign: exposing the vital need for pain education. Clinical Therapy; 35(11):1728-1732. DOI:10.1016/j.clinthera.2013.10.001
NIH (National Institute on Drug Abuse). (2020). Opioid Overdose Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Seth, P., Gladden, R. M., (2018) Vital Signs: Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Suspected Opioid Overdoses–the United States, July 2016-September 2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention