Prescription Drug Abuse Research Paper

Overview Prescription drug abuse and addiction is a growing problem in our society. In 2007 an estimated seven million Americans abused prescription drugs, and almost twenty-eight thousand people died as a result of accidental drug overdose. In the United States drug overdoses are the second leading cause of unintentional deaths (CDC, 2010). Medication prescribed by physicians killed more people in that same than illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine combined (Harvard, 2011). Many members of our society do not view prescription drugs as dangerous. These medications are prescribed by a physician and purchased at a pharmacy to treat acute or chronic pain (Byrne, Lander, & Ferris, 2009). Description Prescription Drug misuse
and abuse affects all members of society to include the rich and famous, homemakers, physicians, executives, teachers, the young and the elderly. The fact that the medications are self-administered substances prescribed to treat acute or chronic conditions contributes to the increased incidence of addition (Wilford, Parran, & DuPont, 2011). There are some factors that affect the rated of prescription drug abuse such as older people and women are less likely to abuse drugs (Weaver, & Jarvis, 2010). However adults that range in age thirty-five to forty-four have the highest drug abuse rates as wells as residences of the Southern and Western regions of the US (CDC, 2008). Rationale Everyday increasing amounts of the patients seek treatment in the emergency departments across the Valley of the Sun. These patients are actively seeking prescription painkillers. Some of the patients have legitimate pain issues but most do not. Many of the high emergency room utilizers are treated in over four different hospital emergency departments per week. Many have been caught altering, or forging prescriptions. Patients give explanations such as their medication was lost, stolen, or the pharmacist did not give the correct amount of drugs for the increased frequency of the need for refills (Wilford, Parran, & DuPont, 2011). There are increased incidences of identity theft and patients using aliases to obtain prescriptions. The prevalence of prescription drug use increases every day and is a serious public health issues due the increased numbers of deaths each year.

References:
Byrne, M.
H., Lander, L., & Ferris, M. (2009). The Changing Face of Opioid Addiction: Prescription Pain Pill Dependence and Treatment. Health & Social Work, 34(1), 53-56. Retrieved on October 2, 2011 from http://web.ebscohost.com.login.glendalelibrary.org:8080/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0f1e465a-bf46-479a-ad0d-c24807b5fba3%40sessionmgr104&vid=14&hid=112
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008, October). Prescription drug overdose: state health agencies respond. © 2008 ASTHO. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on October 1, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/pubs/RXReport_web-a.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, July). Unintentional drug poisoning in the United States. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on October 1, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/pdf/poison-issue-brief.pdf
Painkillers fuel growth in drug addiction: Opioid overdoses now kill more people than cocaine or heroin. (2011). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 27(7), 4-5. Retrieved on October 1, 2011 from
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F., & Jarvis, M. A. E. (2010, October 21). Overview of the recognition and management if the drug abuser. Gold, M. S., & Hermann, R. (Eds.), © UpToDate®. Retrieved on September 30, 2011 from http://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-the-recogntition-and-management-of-the-drug-abuser
Wilford, B. B., Parran, T. V. & DuPont, R. L. (2011, June 3). Prescription drug abuse and addiction: prevention, identification, and management. Brady, K., & Hermann, R. (Eds.), © UpToDate®. Retrieved on September 30, 2011 from
http://uptodate.com/contents/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addition-prevention-identification-and-management