The Problem Of Prescription Drugs

As a critical care nurse the concern with medication shortages really hits home. In my current practice I have been asked by our hospital pharmacy to decrease the amount of Ativan given to a patient because the supply was low and they did not have any more to restock our omnicell. I am unsure the reason behind this particular shortage, but several other drugs we currently use are in low supply, most importantly epinephrine. Epinephrine is a life-saving medication, not only for supply on our code carts for cardiac arrest, but available in injection form for people with severe allergies. The shortage affects everyone, from oncology patients to cardiac patients. Recent policy changes have been made in order to correct the major shortages to help keep these life-saving drugs on the market and available to the people that need them.

Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription

These numbers reveal that teenagers face an apparent exposure to drugs, and have little trouble getting a hold of some if desired. This article concludes that drug use and its consequences are not stressed enough in the current high school curriculum. The statistics prove that more needs to be done to identify and educate students at risk for drug use.

Many department, including BCoFD, are looking for different solutions to help fix this tissue. The goal of this research project is to conduct a needs assessment and provide recommendations to the Baltimore County Fire Department for an outline of a curriculum for a CP course based off the findings of the needs assessment. Extant data was collected by using inclusion and exclusion criteria requirements in the data collection tools from both ImageTrend and National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFRIS) for non-emergency calls. In 2014, BCoFD initiated a specific policy for non-emergency responses that was collected through EMED reports in ImageTrend. During that year, the number of Non-Emergency Responses came to 8,590. In 2016, non-emergency responses came to a total of 12,102, almost 3,500 calls more from 2014. As of March 30th, 2017, the total non-emergency call responses were at 3,615 and continuing to grow. Not only non-emergency calls are climbing, but the total call volume for BCoFD is increasing more and more each year. Since 2013, there has been an average of 5,705 increase calls each

The Heroin and Opioid Epidemic Northeast Ohio Community Action Plan is divided into four parts; Prevention and Education, Healthcare Policy, Law Enforcement and Treatment. This action plan was developed by many local hospitals including the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals as well with the Cleveland Division of Police, the Drug Enforcement Agency and many other health, law, and state agencies. This plan has immediate and long-term actions that will strengthen the community and bring the high rates of heroin related deaths down. This all starts with prevention and

We (Individuals) do not want an individual in jury duty under the use of illegal dugs. But, what if the individual is actually under prescription drugs?

More recently, numerous programs across the United States have distributed naloxone, paired with education on how to identify, prevent, and treat overdoses, to the lay public (e.g., friends and family members of people who use opioids). In addition to naloxone distribution programs for friends and family members of people who use opioids, programs training first responders like police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians who traditionally have not been trained to use naloxone, have also demonstrated positive results [19,20]. Despite evidence of safety and efficacy, naloxone distribution programs, like other harm reduction interventions, face logistical and ideological challenges [21,22]. First, individuals who witness an overdose may not call for medical attention or administer naloxone because of legal concerns

One of the greatest problems we face in America today is the use and abuse of drugs in our country. It is important to find a solution that works within our country to combat the growing populations of our nation’s prisons, keep the supply of drugs under control, and have adequate prevention programs in place to help people who need treatment. Throughout reading the material for this course and the research conducted on the topics described in this paper, it is clear that the methods used in earlier years were not able to achieve the results we would like to see. Advocating for reform and the support of the American people can help with the desperate need for change.

Firstly, the Waterloo Region implemented a plan to identify those in groups at extremely elevated risk for opioid overdose, and to provide them with naloxone kits and training (4). After identifying 64 participants and training them to administer naloxone, twenty-three of twenty-four reported overdoses in the participant’s surroundings were reversed by naloxone (4). This metric of a ninety-six percent success rate proves that if ordinary citizens in the Waterloo region can be trained to properly administer naloxone and prevent a large majority of deaths within their surroundings, those on the front lines of emergency service should be mandated to do so as well due to the nature of their work (4). Additionally, there is evidence that the treatment of opioid overdoses with naloxone is extremely effective, and that intervention with naloxone by first responders can lead to improved patient outcomes (5).

Prescription drugs are making parents more overwhelmed than ever before about their teenaged child! Why must they worry so much about their teenaged child? “When you can stop you don’t want to, and when you want to stop, you can’t…” (Davies). This quote signifies that adolescents and adults have the option to quit or not try the drug when being introduced, but when they get started on the drug and they are thinking abouting quitting, they cannot because of the addiction they have on the drug. Each day they try to stay away from the drug, but they are have really bad withdrawals. Middle and high schools should inform parents about the strategies for preventing, recognizing, and addressing prescription drug abuse.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.

Since 2000, the drug use rate in America has risen to the highest it’s ever been. In a survey done in 2009, 8.7 percent of people age 12 and up said that they used illegal substances within a month of taking the survey, a 9 percent increase since 2008 (Abuse, National Institute on Drug, 2010). This statistic alone is very concerning due to

The greatest threat facing the Modern Fire Service is the rate at which firefighters are dying in the line of duty. Excluding the terrible event of 9/11 that occurred in 2001 that forever changed the dynamics of the emergency response services1, firefighter deaths have averaged around 100 fatalities each year for the since 1990. This unacceptable rate of firefighter deaths has found its way to be a benchmark in the industry. The problem is that the benchmark should be zero firefighter deaths while on duty and every year that there is a fatality is a year that the fire service has failed its members. The number one cause of firefighter related deaths yearly is proven to be medical, stress, or overexertion related fatalities2. All of these causes of firefighter deaths can be avoided with implementation of training and awareness.

Officer Reynolds informed this writer that many of the teens he has came in contact with have informed him thatAccording to a report from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, approximately one in five teenagers have abused a prescription painkiller and one in 11 has abused OTC products (Gara, 2005). Officer Reynolds also spoke about the different parties these teens have with the different drugs they are able to obtain. He stated they have “skittle” and “pharm” parties and who knows what else. This writer asked Officer Reynolds