Opioid In Nursing

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).

Despite the fact that pain is universally recognized as a part of the healing process, ways to minimize its impact on patients have not been aggressively pursued. The modern perspective of pain merits the use of painkillers for both short term and chronic pain, but studies suggest that the likelihood of drug dependence increases with the intensity of the pain, extent of drug use, and frequency of drug use. (Elander, Duarte, Maratos, & Gilbert, 2013). Patients may prefer not to use painkillers such as opioids due to debilitating side effects and fear of developing dependence, yet there are few alternative methods taught to patients to help manage pain.

When one feels that they are experiencing pain, anxiety, or sickness whether it is mild or severe, one quick and easy solution is to head straight to the doctor’s office. A patient will describe his or her symptoms of pain to the doctor and more likely than not that doctor will prescribe the patient some type of prescription drug or pain reliever. Writing patient prescriptions and taking drugs for pain has become a socially acceptable standard in society and has also become an essential part of medicine. Today, Americans are spending millions of dollars every year on drugs, both illegal and legal, and both for medical and often non-medical use. However, what many do not realize is that the widespread increase of drug using in America

All too often and in far too many cases the treatement of pain is becoming the problem. Painkiller addiction has been an epidemic for more than a century and continues to corrupt both the youth and adults of America. While opioids started out with a purpose of pain management, it has now become an industry. Without a stronger regulation of the prescription of pain medicine, doctors will continue to promote the negative effects it has on the users and their loved ones.

Prescription painkiller abuse is a problem that is affecting the economy, society, and wellbeing of the entire globe. As many as 36 million people worldwide abuse prescription painkillers. Prescription painkiller abuse deals with anything relating to taking one’s medications at a higher dose, taking someone else’s medications, or taking medication to feel euphoria. As a result of people wanting a temporary fix for their pain, they take extreme measures to acquire the drug they crave, in which the addiction could cause

Research on outcomes of prescription opiate medications, developed by National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health (NSDUH), reported that 2.6 million people in the United States misused pain relievers. In addition, dependence was a motive for frequent drug abuse which related to opiated medication, followed by suicide and psychic effects. NSDUH found that an estimated 415,000 Americans received treatment for opiate medication and addiction at the same time. The

Doctors are prescribing these medications in order to treat pain, but it is not the solution for all pain related cases. According to the Allen, Jewers, & McDonald (2014), opioids are the second most prescribed medications in emergency medicine and opioid abuse has increased at an alarming rate. There is little education and training given to emergency personnel on pain management and risk of addiction. Understanding factors such as the pain scale, acute pain, chronic pain, addiction and pain at end of life, are vital and should be thoroughly evaluated before opioids are prescribed. Ensuring appropriate use for pain medication can reduce the risk of harm associated with misuse and abuse. If emergency personnel are not understanding how to treat pain, there will continue to be an increase in the amount of over prescribed medications in the United States. Acute and chronic pain play major factors when it comes to prescribing medication. The importance of understanding when to use opioid medication such as for acute pain, chronic pain, and end of life is an ongoing educational process that still needs to be addressed. Education to the patient also needs to be addressed. Teaching patients about the high addictive properties opioids have on the brain is important. Some people take pain medication just because the doctor prescribed it, and they really don’t understand how to use it. If they aren’t understanding how to use medication it can lead to misuse, abuse, and/or even overdose. Also, the false reality mind frame people have been given that they will be pain free with just a pill. Medications are meant to help with pain, not eliminate pain which is why education to patients is so

A comprehensive and continuous pain assessment by the nursing staff contributes to early intervention of pain, decreased severity of acute pain, and may also prevent long-term effects (Vallerand et al, 2011). A comprehensive pain assessment should include detailed subjective questions, especially questions pertaining to pain intensity. Pain was given the title “the fifth vital sign” in 1999 by the Joint Commission (Glowacki, 2015). As a vital sign, pain must be carefully evaluated during assessment just as the other four vital signs are. Assessment of chronic pain should occur on a regular basis using a standardized method that can be translated to all nursing staff (Jablonski and Ersek, 2009). In a study conducted by Jablonski and Ersek (2009), findings revealed only 32% of the long-term care patients in the study were assessed weekly for pain. The same study also indicated adherence to evidence based guidelines for pain management was not consistently observed in documentation. Critical subjective pain characteristics assessed within the last 30 days were left out of 93% of patient charts. Jablonski and Ersek’s (2009) findings were consistent with several other studies of similar topic. These results provide confirmatory evidence that the assessment is the basis for a successful and effective pain management plan and is imperative to provide

Healthcare practitioners have been increasing the usage of pain medications over the years. It is guaranteed that some types of pain medications exist in your medicine cabinet. Today, the problems associated by abusing these medications have brought many American families into trouble and corruption. Not all kinds of pain medications are made equal, they vary from over-the-counter strength to prescription strength. Another factor that plays in the outcome of drug dependency is also the duration of being on the medication. Everyone respond to pain medications differently, thus careful consideration must be made before prescribing such drugs. Healthcare practitioners must consider the appropriate types, strength,

This conclusion is supported by the most current knowledge of the pathophysiology and etiology of substance abuse. Pain management of cancer patients without previous history of substance abuse who are using opioids therapy rarely develop new onset of substance use disorder. The Boston Collaborative surveillance project, a notable study exploring the prevalence of opioids addiction in medical illness, identified 4 cases of addiction out of 11,882 prescribed opioids on in-patients (Meera, 2011). Despite the escalating volume of medical use of opioid pain killers, the rates of drug abuse are staying low and

With the advances in medicine made within the last century, we can treat pain at various levels better than ever before. Whether it’s minor pain such as a headache, or more severe pain from injury or post-surgery, narcotic pain medication has been beneficial for relieving the feeling of pain in people a host of ailments. It can help many people go through day-by-day life better than they might have otherwise without the medication. Despite the benefits of relieving pain that various narcotic pain medications can have, there are also some drawbacks. The narcotics can also have addictive qualities which can lead to problems that can result in turning a person into an addict; and could also lead to overdosing or death. Are doctors over-prescribing

Chronic pain is a growing issue in the United States. It can be from a malignancy or non-malignancy, with opioids being the mainstay of treatment for moderate to severe pain. Before the year 2000, most chronic opioid use was in individuals with malignant cancer pain, but as opioids became more widely acceptable, and physicians had more comfort prescribing them, there has been an increase in opioid prescriptions for non-cancer chronic pain including lower back pain, neuropathic pain, obesity, end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, osteoarthritis, etc.1 There has also been an increase in the use of Methadone, as well as Buprenorphine and Suboxone (combination of Buprenorphine with Naloxone) for opioid addiction and in chronic pain. There are

It is human nature to avoid any distress or suffering and one of the most frequent reasons why people seek medical treatment from professionals is to help relief pain. When over-the-counter pain killers no longer provide the relief that an individual is looking for, they turn to doctors who can prescribe a stronger pain medication. While there several treatment options available for pain one of the most commonly prescribed medication is opioid analgesics in Canada (Dhalla et al., 2009). Opioid is a synthetic made drug that can relive pain by acting on the nervous system. They are a class of drugs that are powerful pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and many others. However, when not used according to the doctor’s instructions, or used for a long period of time they can often lead to addiction, misuse, abuse, diversion, and unintentional death (Densberg & Curtiss, 2016). Most of opioid-related overdoses include prescription opioids but an increasing number are tied to illicit opioids such as heroin and

Pain management varies from patient to patient (Foy et al., 2013). Pain management not only includes taking care of the pain, but also includes taking care of patient’s psychological, spiritual, and social needs that are affected by the pain (Foy et al., 2013). According to Foy et al, (2013) Pain has two classifications, acute and chronic. Acute pain is transient, it arrives unexpectedly and has an expeditious alleviation. Conversely, chronic pain lasts up to 3 to 6 months. For pain to be perceived as a pain it must travel through transduction, transmission, perception, and modulation (Foy et al., 2013). Two classifications of drugs exist that treat pain. These include non-opioid and opioid (Foy et al., 2013). Medical professionals either prescribe these drugs alone or in combination. Opioids are infamous for addiction and misuse (Foy et al., 2013). There are many safety concerns related to opioid use in addition to their laundry list of side effects. Side effects include sedation, confusion, respiratory depression, and GI disturbances (Foy et al., 2013). Opioid addiction starts with pain management. Patients become dependent on opioids regardless of the presence of pain and it eventually becomes an addiction when a person consumes opioids because of its effects on their nervous system (Foy et al.,

Inadequately managed pain can lead to adverse physical and psychological patient outcomes for patients. Continuous, unrelieved pain can suppress the immune system and result in postsurgical infection and poor wound healing. Sympathetic activation can have negative effects on the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal systems, predisposing patients to adverse events such as cardiac ischemia and ileus. Pain control is importance to nursing care, unrelieved pain reduces patient mobility, resulting in complications such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, and pneumonia.