Opioid Disorders: A Case Study

A family member, friend, or other individual who is in a position to assist an individual who is apparently experiencing or at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose, is not subject to criminal prosecution for a violation of section 4731.41 of the Revised Code or criminal prosecution under this chapter if the individual, acting in good faith, does all of the following:

In 2004, Carol Ward confronted a Manitoba doctor with a photo of her daughter, Lisa Erickson, injecting drugs. She pleaded with the doctor to stop prescribing morphine to her daughter because her daughter was suffering from a drug addiction and did not need opioids. Her daughter died of an overdose at age 32. According to the new data from Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) and provincial regulatory agencies suggest physicians rarely face serious discipline in opioid-related cases, however, many doctors worried since investigations and monitoring has increased (Glauser, 2017). The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario released information that about 84 doctors flagged by the ministry of health for prescribing opioids in

SOURCE: “F.D.A. to Expand Medication-Assisted Therapy for Opioid Addicts,” Sheila Kaplan, The New York Times Company, February 25, 2018.

Opioid addiction is a condition that is preventable as well as one which individuals display several noticeable risk factors before the actual addiction prognosis to the point of causing death. There is a strong correlation between the early misuse of prescription opioids, which are prescribed for non-cancer pain management, and the development of a dependence on such opioids. Early detection of risk factors such as the misuse of opioids that are prescribed will help indicate that a patient is developing an addiction.1 Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers must closely monitor patients and the rate at which opioids are consumed as well as refilled.

Opioid abuse, misuse and overdose is a problem in The United States. You can’t turn on the TV or read a newspaper without some mention of the epidemic. This issue has caused the practice of prescribing or taking narcotic pain medication to be looked at under a microscope. Patients are fearful to use some necessary pain medication, because they may become addicted. Other patients who genuinely do have pain and need medication are having a tougher time obtaining the help they need. The problem of abuse and addiction is tough to solve since for some people the medications are the only way they can function and live a semi-normal life. A patient with pain may be hesitant to visit the doctor and

As better and more comprehensive education is provided both to the general public and practicing clinicians the hope is to reduce the negativity surrounding the users of opioids, and to eliminate demeaning language coupled to them as well. This could improve patient morale and help the needless continuation of physical suffering within patients, as they would be more comfortable approaching and using opioids for therapeutic purposes1. That being said there are those within our communities who do abuse these substances and pharmacists must recognize the signs of abusers, it is important for them to reach out, without comment, to help those suffering from opioid abuse once they have been

Opioids, otherwise known as prescription pain medication, are used to treat acute and chronic pain. They are the most powerful pain relievers known. When taken as directed they can be safe and effective at managing pain, however, opioids can be highly addictive. Ease of access helps people get pain medications through their physician or by having friends and family get the medication for them. With their ease of access and being highly addictive the use and misuse of opioids have become a growing epidemic. Patients should be well educated on the affects opioid use can have. More importantly instead of the use of opioids, physicians should look into alternative solutions for pain management. While pain medication is helpful with chronic pain, it is also highly addictive, doctors should be more stringent to whom and how often they prescribe pain medication.

Opioid abuse is a crisis that is plaguing America, in 2015 there we an estimated 15,000 deaths due to prescription opioids*. People are dying, and families are being ripped apart, a radical change needs to occur in order to save lives. Although there are many ways to attempt to solve this problem, here are three solutions that could potentially save lives; decriminalize all drugs, limit prescribed painkillers, and provide access to Narcan (naloxone).

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5, opioid use disorder (OUD) is characterized by patterns of opioid use that are problematic and persist for at least one year (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Evidence of problematic use of opioid is demonstrated through the presence of at least 2 symptoms which include withdrawal, craving, and continued use of opioids despite the disruptions it causes in personal and professional life. The substances used by persons with OUD are heroin and nonmedical pain relievers ([NMPR]; i.e. nonmedical use of opioid pain relievers), and estimates for DSM-5-defined OUD tend to combine the prevalence of use for each of these substances to determine overall

What is the number of lives that need to be taken before a problem is acknowledged as a pressing issue? Elijah Cummings, a US politician, states “More than 26,000 lives may be lost to the effects of drug abuse this year. This tragic impact is felt in communities across this great nation,” many of whom are not trying enough to attempt to alleviate this problem. Opioids are, throughout the US, consistently over prescribed and ineffectively regulated, leading to overuse and abuse of opioids becoming a pandemic in the United States.

According to NIH, millions of people suffer from opioid use disorder throughout the United States. This epidemic has continued to spread and the numbers of people who are becoming addicted is on the rise so much that the total burden of cost is at 78.5 billion dollars per year for prescription opioid misuse, this includes the cost of addiction treatment, criminal justice services, and health care (NIH, 2017. https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-crisis) Unfortunately there does not seem to be an end to this epidemic anytime soon. The numbers are unremarkable; natural and semi-synthetic opioids peeked at 14,427, heroin at 15,446 and synthetic opioids other than methadone at 20,145. That is a total of 50,018 deaths for some type

First, for providers to use opioids as the first option in prescribing pain killers needs to be addressed. Knowing that opioids are very addictive should sway providers to look for other options for their patients before looking towards opioid type drugs. Second, once a patient is prescribed opioids for pain management, there needs to be limitations placed on how many pills the patient can have at one time. There also needs to be a limitation placed on the amount of time a patient can use any form of opioids. Third, once a patient’s prescription runs out, they often times start looking to find that same high by buying these drugs illegally off the streets. Therefore, after a patient stops using an opioid medication, they need to have some type of specialty care available to them (mandatory if used for a prolonged period of time) to address any potential withdrawal symptoms; care that can provide counseling and or medications that enable the patient to be weaned off of the drug. Fourth, the need to identify why patients are not seeking recovery is crucial. Not many opioid addicts seek treatment; the first step in recovery is to seek help. Fifth, determining how to get opioid addicts into a recovery program will help exponentially to get people away from opioid use and on the road to recovery. Sixth, opioid addicts do not have high success rates for continued recovery after leaving a treatment program. Identifying the needs of the addicts after treatment is one of the most important elements to staying clean and

Opioid use disorders are directly linked to major consequences for individuals as well as society. Opioids include drugs such as Vicodin, oxycodone, morphine, and heroin among others (CITE). Currently, estimates show there are about 20 million people abusing or addicted to opioids countrywide (Bell, 2014). Opioid use can cause decrease quality of life as it is a common cause of familial conflict, homelessness, incarceration, life threatening illness, and death by overdose.

The opioid epidemic is a problem of importance to me, with an immense national impact. As an adolescent in Chicago, I am exposed to the horrifying statistics of opioid abuse every day. For example, the CDC reports that 91 Americans die from opioid overdose every day and the number is quickly rising. Also, the amount of Americans have died from the "opioid war" is more than 3 times the U.S Military deaths during the Vietnam War. I have watched the stories of babies born with opioid addiction, teenagers in rural parts of Milwaukee and Ohio dying from overdosing and families being torn apart because of drugs like heroin, Percocet, and opium. There are people who believe that only poor and low-income individuals succumb to opioid addictions because you have to be uneducated to be exposed to drugs. But the truth of the matter is, opioids do not discriminate.

On June 6, 2017 Arizona Governor Doug Ducey declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency in the state of Arizona (Vestal, C. 2017, June 6). Since 2012 there has been a 74% increase in opioid overdoses and deaths; this equals about 2 opioid overdose deaths per day in Arizona (Vestal, C. 2017, June 6). 431 million opioid pills were prescribed in Arizona in 2016 enough for every Arizonan to have a 2.5 week supply of opioid pills (Arizona Department of Health Services, 2017). The “U.S. is only 5% of the world’s population however we consume more than 80% of the worlds opioid supply” (Arizona Department of Health Services, 2017). In 2011 opioids made $11 billion in profits for pharmaceutical businesses (Eban, 2011)