Prescriptions are amazingly complex and can be considered the “magic potions” of the world as we know it today. They are capable of providing instant relief to pain and suffering, and not to mention, save many lives every day. This, however, is just the mere surface of what these drugs are really able to do. When most people think of drug abuse, the illegal drugs are what come to mind. It is considered a rarity to hear about a drug bust involving legal medication, yet legal medication remains to be one of the most misused drugs in the world. Many of them are also potentially the most dangerous drugs, and can be deadly if used irresponsibly, excessively, or mixed with other drugs such as alcohol. People who use other drugs, such as heroin,
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Most prescription drug abusers do not willingly make the decision to abuse, but rather make the decision unknowingly. A great way to prevent this is to start enforcing regulations and laws with medical providers. Physicians in many pharmacies often lack sufficient training and ability to monitor patients. A 2004 survey shows that forty-four percent of physicians reported that they have never received proper medical school training in prescribing controlled substances (Shepherd p.96). In the state of Washington, the amount of opioid prescriptions increased by five hundred percent from 1997 to 2006. In 1995, there were only twenty-four opioid related deaths from overdose compared to the 351 deaths in 2004. By 2006, 10.8 out of every one hundred thousand people would die from overdose in Washington (Franklin et al. ¶ 8). A main cause of these large numbers lies within the fact that medical providers are unable to inform patients of the potential dangers that come with prescriptions. Most patients are susceptible to the idea that prescriptions are completely safe. While many people are informed about the dangers of illegal drugs, there remains a lack of attention to the danger of drugs that are legal. This especially holds true with teenagers and young adults. According to Larsen, …show more content…
For example, doctor shopping is common among patients who use pharmaceuticals. Doctor shopping is the act in which an individual results to several different physicians to purchase prescriptions, rather than one single provider. A survey was implemented from 2007 to 2008 by the Department of General Medicine at Chiba University Hospital in Japan. Of the 929 patients surveyed, 458 of them were men, and 471 of them were women. A total of 79 men were reported to be doctor shoppers, as well as 124 women. Of all the people who completed the survey, almost twenty-two percent of them allegedly claimed that they were guilty of buying from multiple providers (Ohira Yoshiyuki et al. ¶ 11). Another study in France showed that the amount of doctor shopping used to purchase various drugs ranged from under half a percent to over thirty percent of all dispenses (Frank Rouby et al. Table 2). While this may not cause any harm to certain people, it remains to be a key contributor to drug abuse. This is a prime example of why there needs to be regulations on how and where people can purchase their medications. A great way to do this is by utilizing prescription drug monitoring programs. “These programmes are designed to curtail some of the primary sources of prescription drug abuse and diversion such as fraudulent prescriptions, doctor shopping, and rogue prescribing and
Most prescription drug abusers do not willingly make the decision to abuse, but rather make the decision unknowingly. A great way to prevent this is to start enforcing regulations and laws with medical providers. Physicians in many pharmacies often lack sufficient training and ability to monitor patients. A 2004 survey shows that forty-four percent of physicians reported that they have never received proper medical school training in prescribing controlled substances (Shepherd p.96). In the state of Washington, the amount of opioid prescriptions increased by five hundred percent from 1997 to 2006. In 1995, there were only twenty-four opioid related deaths from overdose compared to the 351 deaths in 2004. By 2006, 10.8 out of every one hundred thousand people would die from overdose in Washington (Franklin et al. ¶ 8). A main cause of these large numbers lies within the fact that medical providers are unable to inform patients of the potential dangers that come with prescriptions. Most patients are susceptible to the idea that prescriptions are completely safe. While many people are informed about the dangers of illegal drugs, there remains a lack of attention to the danger of drugs that are legal. This especially holds true with teenagers and young adults. According to Larsen, …show more content…
For example, doctor shopping is common among patients who use pharmaceuticals. Doctor shopping is the act in which an individual results to several different physicians to purchase prescriptions, rather than one single provider. A survey was implemented from 2007 to 2008 by the Department of General Medicine at Chiba University Hospital in Japan. Of the 929 patients surveyed, 458 of them were men, and 471 of them were women. A total of 79 men were reported to be doctor shoppers, as well as 124 women. Of all the people who completed the survey, almost twenty-two percent of them allegedly claimed that they were guilty of buying from multiple providers (Ohira Yoshiyuki et al. ¶ 11). Another study in France showed that the amount of doctor shopping used to purchase various drugs ranged from under half a percent to over thirty percent of all dispenses (Frank Rouby et al. Table 2). While this may not cause any harm to certain people, it remains to be a key contributor to drug abuse. This is a prime example of why there needs to be regulations on how and where people can purchase their medications. A great way to do this is by utilizing prescription drug monitoring programs. “These programmes are designed to curtail some of the primary sources of prescription drug abuse and diversion such as fraudulent prescriptions, doctor shopping, and rogue prescribing and