About JeffreyJeffery Chandler is a Salt Lake Community College student whose passions include art, music, being a father, and all things science.
"I feel that this is a very important topic to discuss as we as a society are facing an epidemic of individuals who have succumbed to addiction of painkillers or have been misinformed about the medications they were prescribed. And the only way to address this issue is through open discussion about the use and abuse". |
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If you have ever been ill,injured or just plain under the weather and have gone to see your family practitioner or visited an Instacare, or ER you may have noticed that the time spent seeing the actual doctor is less than the time spent seeing their nurses, or medical assistants. Once the doctor has viewed your medical record and charts he or she more than likely will offer one prescription or another to treat your condition, be it acute or chronic.
All too often in America people are prescribed medications that they just don’t know or understand much about, like what it actually does to help them and the side effects that are attributed to the medications they're taking. Along with the understanding of what you're taking, one needs to understand whether or not they actually need to be taking it, and if so, they need to understand the dosages as well. One of the more commonly overprescribed medications are opioid painkillers, and often those prescribed take more than they actually need to mitigate the pain. According to the CDC, Since 1999 the amount of painkillers prescribed and sold in the US has quadrupled despite the fact that the overall pain levels reported by americans have not gone up. Surprisingly, everyday 44 people in America die from prescription pain medication overdoses, in which the most commonly prescribed and abused pain medications are opioids. The four most common are: Hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin) Oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin) Oxymorphone (e.g., Opana) Methadone (especially when prescribed for pain). It is reported that nearly 7000 people a day are treated in emergency rooms for prescription related overdoses, of those 44 persons who die from their overdoses most were between the ages of 25-54 (cdc.gov). (1) Another commonly prescribed medication ranked third most prescribed are antidepressants. According to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics, the use of antidepressants among teens and adults aged 12 and older increased nearly 400% between 2005-2008. Federal government health statisticians figure that about one in every 10 Americans takes an antidepressant. Among those who take antidepressants the highest percentage more than any other age or gender were women aged 40-50 at 23%. It is reported that women are two and a half times more likely to be on an antidepressant than men. For men and women 14% of those taking antidepressants take more than one prescription. Of those taking multiple antidepressants, males are more likely than females to have seen a mental health professional in the past year, with the likelihood of seeking professional help increasing with the number of antidepressants taken. (2) Why do doctors overprescribe? There are many reasons a doctor chooses to provide a prescription over other options but what it has come down to in this modern age is simply an adaptation of a prescription culture, in which doctors and patients are used to treating conditions with medication. From the onset of medical school, doctors are taught to treat symptoms and ailments with medications. Once in the field and practicing they are subjected to solicitation from drug company sales reps to push their products. Patients too are bombarded with daily adverts seen in magazine ads or television commercials soliciting prescriptions for treating a variety of conditions, so it is only natural that a conversation between the doctor and patient will result in a prescription being the method of treatment. Another aspect that may be aiding the rise in prescriptions are the insurance companies themselves who may or may not cover treatments other than the recommended medications designed for the condition the patient has. With the high rise in usage of opioid painkillers and antidepressants, it is always best to consult your doctor to inquire about the nature of the medication prescribed or if an alternative treatment might be more effective than conventional prescriptions. According to some studies as reported by consumerreports.org, opioids are less effective in treating long term chronic pain than conventional over the counter painkillers such as Ibuprofen, Advil, and Acetaminophen. It is common for individuals taking opioids to build up a tolerance over time to opioids which in turn requires higher dosages to achieve the same level of pain relieve. Alternative treatments to conventional medications for chronic pain and depression may consist of: increasing or decreasing daily exercise, taking up yoga or tai chi to reduce stress in the body, and consuming less food and beverages such as alcohol and processed foods that might adversely affect one’s condition. And as always consult your doctor before making changes to determine which is right for you. |
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Works Cited
CDC NCHS Data Brief. “Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States, 2005–2008”. web. (October 2011) (2015). CDC.gov. “Prescription Drug Overdose Data”. web. last updated (April 30,2015) (2015). consumerreports.org. "5 Surprising Facts on Painkillers". web.(January,2014) (2015). Wehrwein, Peter. “Astounding Increase in Antidepressant Use By Americans”. web. health.harvard.edu (October 20,2011) (2015). mercola.com "New Research Finds Doctors are Massively Overprescribing Drugs". web (July 2, 2011)(2015). |
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Deborah, a humble woman with a frail voice and eyes that look as if they could tell a story all of their own, lives and struggles daily from a myriad of health complications such as: congestive heart disease, chronic back pain, high blood pressure, a compromised immune system and so on. So when it comes to the subject on the medical practice of over prescribing medications she is all too familiar with the system. I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions in regards to her experience and interpretations of the medical system we live in today and she had this to say.
When asked how often the topic of prescriptions come up during her visits she replied that due to her condition she is on a host of many medications and is asked quite frequently about them as her doctors are continually looking for ways to adjust them as needed. She also stated that she has had many doctors over the years who try to push the latest new and improved prescriptions as an alternative to the ones she is currently on. She refers to these doctors as script doctors and refuses to see them again in the future. As the saying goes, there is more than one way to shine a penny, or in this case there are many ways to treat a body. I asked her if she had ever had any of her doctors discuss alternative treatments to the medications she is taking. Deborah mentioned that her family practioner and heart doctor occasionally talk with her about alternative treatments but usually it is in the way of dieting restrictions that may cause interactions with her medications. She said not much is discussed in the way of alternative treatments that could help her get off some of the medications she is taking, as she is taking fifteen or more medications a day. While talking, the topic of doctor patient interactions came up. Deborah mentioned that she has noticed many doctors in emergency rooms and at various clinics she has been to are always in a hurry and appear to busy to listen to their patients. She stated that they often focus mainly on gathering information from the charts full of data and from other colleagues rather than from the patients themselves . At the end of our conversation she gave a final thought that. she feels sums up her experiences with the medical system. “Doctors need to remember that patients are people with feelings, not just a number on a chart. They need to trust the patient when they say that something is not right, because they live in the body that is being treated”. Deborah, Personal Interview “A medical Insight” (October,2015) |