Opioid Epidemic Summary

In the article, “Don’t blame addicts for America’s opioid crisis. Here are the real culprits” by Chris McGreal, America’s widespread opioid problem is discussed. Primarily, McGreal points the finger at multiple sources such as the FDA, pharmaceutical companies, and the government for aggravating the opioid problem. According to the author, “America’s opioid crisis was caused by rapacious pharma companies, politicians who colluded with them and regulators who approved one opioid pill after another” (McGreal). However, McGreal believes that there are multiple causes for the deadly opioid epidemic that exists today. Next, McGreal states that money is one of the main reasons for the epidemic of opioids. The author asserts that patients are given

In the article, Oaklawn responds to opioid epidemic through a variety of treatment methods, Oaklawn shares how the opioid epidemic came to be and how they are geared to resolve the issue. The opioid epidemic started when physicians in the 1980’s, 90’s and 00’s thought that the only way to treat chronic pain was to keep giving their patients an increase in the pain medications. Physicians are now recognizing their mistake in doing this and are now working together to find a way to help people struggling with opioid addiction.

The opioid problem is big. The fact that multiple parties (FDA, Pharmacies, Doctors) are involved make the problem even more complex and difficult to fix. One of the best ways to begin helping the opioid crisis is within the FDA. The different types of opioids need to be re-tested to evaluate their necessity within our healthcare system. Too many readily available opioids are not beneficial. Next are doctors need to be taught to stand up again big pharmaceutical companies. These companies have their priority in profit, not patient care. Hopefully by implementing these factors, the opioid crisis can become a problem of the past.

Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, spoke at the Economic Club of New York yesterday. As a result of this speech, the stock market jumped and the dollar depreciated. Chelsey Dulaney of the Wall Street Journal reported that, "The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the buck against a basket of 16 currencies, fell 0.4% to 86.65. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.13295." The key part of Janet Yellen's speech that triggered the dollar depreciation was when she said:

Weeks before my 12th birthday, I went to an emergency center thinking that I had an ear infection. Sitting in a hospital bed, I recall panicking, as I realized I could not move my legs. 2 years and a vast multitude of tests later, doctors were able to determine that I have an autonomic nervous system condition called Dysautonomia. Now, at 19 years of age, my doctor has just signed the paperwork so that I can become a medical marijuana card holder. After years of dealing with the dilemma that is prescription opioids, I have found myself opting for medical marijuana instead, and for good reason. Without a doubt, medical marijuana is a better alternative to prescription opioids in terms of overdoses, negative side effects, and psychoactive properties.

Tennessee is one of the states hit hardest by the nation’s opioid epidemic which began about 20 years ago and had a stark increase since 2009, now reaching unprecedented levels across the county with a 200% increase in the rate of deaths involving opioids (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016; Fletcher, 2016). In Tennessee specifically, it is estimated that about 1 in 6 abuse opioids; the CDC estimates that for every one person who dies from an opioid overdose in Tennessee there are 851 others in the state who are in various stages of their abuse, misuse, and treatment; and the most recent statistics show that opioid overdoses alone make up about 7.7% of deaths in Tennessee, making them responsible for more deaths than car accidents in the state (Botticelli, 2016; Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016; Fletcher, 2016; ONDCP, 2016; Thompson, 2016).

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

Health care providers have a great responsibility treating individuals with various medical conditions to ensure positive patient outcomes related to physical and psychological functioning. The most common condition patients seek treatment for is chronic pain and the most common location for treatment is the emergency department (ED). In addition, nurse practitioners are the most likely providers of care and often responsible for millions of Americans yearly in the ED (Balestra, 2016). Approximately 51% of ED visits in 2010 were for pain related complaints and 31% of the visits resulted in opioid prescriptions (Bohnert et al., 2016). This requires the nurse practitioner to be knowledgeable of resources to assist in making clinical decisions

Opioids are pain relievers that bind to opioid receptors on nerve cells throughout the body. They produce feelings of euphoria, tranquility and sedation. However, opioids are “considered the most harmful of all illicit drugs” (Amato et al., 2005, p.321).

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 have been several news coverages on TV and social network about drug overdose of different cases recently and they have risen people’s concern about the problems of drug abuse national-wide. The drug abuse and opioid epidemic is not a new problem to the American society, actually it has been a serious problem for many years. So what is the situation of drug epidemic now, and how can we find effective ways to deal with this problem? A few writers who ponder this question are Nora D. Volkow, Dan Nolan and Chris Amico.

The Opioid Epidemic in Canada and the USA and its Effects on the Health of the Affected Communities

athaniel Hawthorn’s book, The Scarlet Letter, is rife with complex and captivating characters. Throughout the book, Hawthorn displays his ability to write characters who are believable, and yet fascinating at the same time. Each of his characters posses different, unique traits, and are all intriguing in their own right. One character who stands out among the rest, is Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is one of the main protagonists of the book, and is the tragic character of the story. He proves his tragic nature through his steady decline from upstanding Pastor to sinful hypocrite, his torturous treatment of himself, out of remorse for his sin, and by others, and his eventual overcoming of his in conflict.

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.

With all the recent unethical behavior in high profile cases. Someone may ask is there such a thing as ethical leadership? Leadership behaviors have a direct impact on the effectiveness and trust of the leader, the followers, and the organization. In the recent past there have been organizations rocked by scandal and impropriety stemming from how a leader acted or did not act such as: “the alleged cover-up by Penn State University senior administrators of criminal acts perpetuated by Jerry Sandusky” (Burton & Peachey, 2013, p. 354), and the “loudly publicized ethical failures of the late 1990s” (McMahone, 2012, p. 339). These are negative examples, but for the leaders who do things right the results are respect for