The Pharmacy On Camden Road Will Pilot Test A Suboxone Clinic

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Opioid use in the US has increased over the years, and this has led to an increase in substance abuse. Substance abuse is not only associated with use of illicit drugs but also prescription drugs. In 2015, of the 20.5 million reported cases of substance abuse, 2 million had an abuse disorder related to prescription pain relievers and 591,000 associated with heroin.1 The increase in substance abuse disorder has led to an increase in opioid related death. In 2015 drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death in the US with 52, 404 lethal drug overdoses.2

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).

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

The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such.

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

There are a variety of treatment modalities, both conservative and emerging, that clinicians, therapists, and doctors use to treat heroin and opioid dependence. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), 12 step programs, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are just a few that have been used in the past, and even today, in the treatment of substance dependence. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is yet another form of therapy; particularly for opioid and heroin dependence, that has been around for decades. However, it has recently begun to spark interest and controversy in light of the growing epidemic.

If you watch the news it should come as no surprise that drug abuse and overdoses have increased dramatically in the United States. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as many as 36 million people abuse opioids throughout the world with 2.1 million in the U.S. who currently suffer from opioid abuse disorders (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). These astonishing numbers are only marginalized when comparing them to opioid related deaths in the United States. With an increase of 137 percent since 2000, deaths from drug overdoses now occur 1.5 times more often than deaths from motor vehicle accidents (Rudd Aleshire, Zibbell & Gladden, 2016). The opioid epidemic in the

In October of 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Suboxone for the treatment in the United States of opiate addiction (Mintzer, 2007). It is a medication-assisted treatment; however it “does not require participation in a highly-regulated federal program such as a methadone clinic” (Stuckert, 2013). It does not cause the high or euphoria feeling associated with opiate dependency. In fact many patients that have taken the treatment have said that they have felt little more than having more energy and no real high at all (Thompson-Gargano, 2004).

Before providing any drugs to patients, test are ran by a doctor to determine the addiction and what type of drugs will help their condition. Methadone clinics use methadone and buprenorphine to help manage addicts cravings. Levacetylmethadol is used for patients who do not respond to methadone and buprenorphine treatment. In addition to the chemical treatments that address addiction, clinics provide life skill classes, job skill training, individual counseling, group counseling, and medical care is also provided, which can help an addict see a future and want to stop

In Florida alone, thousands of Americans die every year due to the struggles of opioid addiction. According to Becker’s Hospital Review 1,399 (Rappleye) Floridians die each year from prescription or heroin overdose. Many families are affected by opioid

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, some common drugs that cause abuse, and their effects and some common treatments.

“These numbers are especially intimidating given the unique challenges rural communities face. While all states have reported increases in opioid mortality and injury, the largest increases are reported in heavily rural states like Kentucky, West Virginia, Alaska, and Oklahoma. These discrepancies are largely due to significantly lower Emergency Medical Service (EMS) response times due to sparse population concentrations, mountainous terrain, and longer transit times for EMS providers” (2017).

The Opioid Crisis has grown tremendously throughout the years, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed by doctors steadily increased from 112 million prescriptions in 1992 to a peak of 282 million in 2012, according to the market research firm IMS Health. The number of prescriptions dispensed has since declined, falling to 236 million in 2016.(CNN, Opioid Crisis Fun Facts, 2018, P6.). In 2016 there was 63,600 overdoses and 42,249 came from opioids, these drugs are getting easier to buy off the streets, so more people buy them because they are cheaper than some but get you the same high that they want from the other drugs. People get prescription drugs from either stealing them, or other people sell them to them, or they can even get them from their family, but they end up selling

West Virginia the highest rate for an overdose in this particular state. The heroin is an inexpensive drug to buy, drug dealer can make their money this way. This particular drug Heroin gives you an internal rush it keeps you going for a couple hours. Levi says these rates are high because they started at a young age. Also Levi said “is too keep the kids interested in a sport of some kind of activities is so they don’t get hooked on this particular drug”. (McCormick, 2015) Heroin has taken a heavy toll in parts of West Virginia. Prosecutor attorney William Fell said Baltimore is the first heroin addiction and then Berkeley is the second highest heroin issues. Officer Master said the drug dealer is willing to drive to a larger city to get the heroin cheaper like the Pittsburgh District of Columbia or even Baltimore. (McCormick, 2015). This website called West Virginia Broadcasting said ‘The drug dealers will go to Berkley to get new customers or to get more people interested in this drug. Also the West Virginia Broadcasting mention Heroin Mass is up with person breathing system”. (Vorhees, 2015). West Virginia Broadcasting, Dr. Harman said When a person goes into an overdose, when they are brought to the hospital, they are given Narcan to bring them back to a normal breathing relaxing stage. (Vorhees, 2015). The doctor Harman said “will allow family members and friends of addicts to get a prescription for Naloxone” (Vorhees, 2015). Fire department Chad Jones said (Mistich,