The United States is experiencing an unprecedented rise in the abuse of prescription and non prescription opioid drugs. In the last 20 years, painkillers with the active ingredient oxycodone have been used indiscriminately. This is because the opioid oxycodone mimics the effects of classic drugs that are used for recreational use. This means that some of the drugs made with oxycodone as the primary active ingredient can be as addictive and thus, open to abuse. These drugs have similar addictive and stimulative effects like substances such as heroine and cocaine are both a blessing and a curse. Opiod misuse can only be curbed through legally mandated institutions who work together as a joint force.
According to West et al (2015), the discovery of the benefits of opioid use in medicine revolutionized pain management. This is because the opioid based drugs proved to be more beneficial than morphine. Pharmaceutical companies soon took up the opportunity to create different brand names such as Oxycodin and Vicodin. A combined effort from stakeholders is thought to be the key to manage the crisis. This includes a combination of efforts from the doctors who prescribe this painkillers, the FDA who are a regulatory body and the government who are law enforcers and an overall monitoring body. Opioid use has been shown to rise to crisis levels in this way.
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Doctors have been tasked with the prescription of drugs as part of the treatment regime. West et al (2015) explain that this places them in a situation where they can control the distribution of opioid related painkillers. Doctors can discourage the use of opioids by prescribing painkillers with other active ingredients. Alternative pain killers that do not have the side effect of potential addiction can be used to manage pain in minor ailments. They include ailments such as simple flu which can be treated without the use of opioids. Opioids can be limited to the management of post surgical pain or chronic pain that cannot be managed without the use of opioids.
Other people begin to abuse opioids when their prescriptions run out. The acquisition of fake prescriptions can help the patient continue to consumer the substance. The doctor can prevent such scenarios by monitoring a patient on painkillers. They can also help prevent addiction by slowly lowering the patients dose. Some doctors deliberately promote opioids through a secret partnership with the staff at such pharmaceutical companies. This makes the crisis of opioid abuse contineue and worsen. Doctors and pharmacists who practice unethical acts such as those about should be punished thoroughly. Potential retribution should include cancellation of practicing licences or blacklisting. The medical board should come up with guidelines that guide such practices and that can be applied within the law. This is the first legal body that can counter the Opioid crisis.
The Food and Drug Agency (FDA) was one of the first bodies to raise awareness on the crisis. This is another body that can assist in the prevention of the crisis from spreading. This can be done by reclassifying the opioid based painkillers into a different category. This will prevent dispensing drugs to underage persons or to persons who are most likely to develop addiction problems. Susceptible persons include former drug addicts, persons with a history of pain killer addiction and persons that are emotionally unstable. These people are more easily affected by addiction to prescription drugs and they usually have a difficult time controlling the vice (Fudin, 2015).
The FDA is also engaging stakeholders so that they can determine alternative non addictive options for pain management. Part of this planning includes the treatment of withdrawal symptoms that are related to opioid use. This therapy is especially beneficial to those on inpatient treatment because they leave the hospital with no dependence on the drugs. The FDA hopes to partner with people such as IT experts which can develop support mechanism such as apps and other tracking devices. Bodies such as Medicaid and some insurance agencies are also willing to dedicate their time to such a venture. A successful outcome will help the organisation to account for their financial investment better. Reducing the cost if treatment by eliminating opioid related addictions will assist in the reassigning such funds to more long-term ventures. The final measure the FDA is calling for is internet monitoring. This will prevent the unlimited trade of the drugs on a willing seller willing buyer.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA) is also on the fore front on the fight against opioid abuse. Their focus is on the increase in accidental death caused by overdosing. Late in 2017, President Trump declared opioid related death rates a public health emergency. This was after statistics showed that about 115 persons die daily in the US from opioid related overdoses. The Centres for Disease Control also concur with the gravity of this matter. Dart et al (2015) point out that millions of dollars are lost in criminal justice processes, hours lost from work, treatment of addictions and additional healthcare ventures used to combat the effects of opioids. Statistics from NIDA estimate that more than 21% of people on opioids abuse them. According to Dart et al (2015), while 8-12% continue on continue onto develop an addiction, about 6% move on straight to heroin addiction. Another dangerous problem has come from the increased use of needles which may spread HIV and also Hepatitis C. One of the gravest consequences of opioid misuse is neonatal abstinence syndrome during pregnancy. The only way to combat the opioid crisis is to employ an inter agency approach. This will help the nation to counter the issue from every angle.
References
Dart, R. C., Surratt, H. L., Cicero, T. J., Parrino, M. W., Severtson, S. G., Bucher-Bartelson, B., " Green, J. L. (2015). Trends in opioid analgesic abuse and mortality in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine , 372 (3), 241-248.
Fudin, J. (2015). The Economics of Opioids: Abuse, REMS, and Treatment Benefits. American Journal of Managed Care , 21 (9 A), S188A-S194A.
West, N. A., Severtson, S. G., Green, J. L., " Dart, R. C. (2015). Trends in abuse and misuse of prescription opioids among older adults. Drug " Alcohol Dependence , 149 , 117-121.
