Pharmaceutical drug overdoses has become one of the leading causes of death in our nation. When you get sick you go to the Doctors and get antibiotics to get well quicker. We are a nation built on quick and easy fixes. Our value of conveniently easy fixes has lead to over prescribing. Now is the supplier at fault for this abuse or is the supplyie. Do we point the finger at drug companies who push their products while minimizing the potential risks and side effects? Is it the clinics and hospitals that often pit patient satisfaction against physicians’ ethics? Or should the blame fall on the patient's’ cravings for a pill that will cure their ills and take away their pains?
When thinking of drug abuse common street drugs …show more content…
The truth is that many don’t recognize pharmaceutical drug abuse because it’s become so common.
Prescription drugs are so easily thought of as being safe because why would a doctor prescribe anything that wasn't safe; prescription pills are safe and will make a sickly person better if …show more content…
An addict can sometimes be driven to do anything to get a substance, and the current system doesn’t stop them from doing so.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals recognize there is a problem, but many contend that they are caught between helping patients in pain and curbing abuse at the same time. On the one hand, there are the addicts who need rehabilitation, but on the other, there are the patients with chronic pain who need painkillers in order to function. Adding to the confusion is the fact that withdrawal from opiates can be extremely painful. “It’s difficult to tell the difference between a patient in pain from a medical condition, and a patient in pain from opiate withdrawal,” states one ER doctor from Maryland
Ultimately the sickly person or their caregiver is responsible to make sure they are following the directions clearly, but it is the Doctor's’ responsibility to make sure that the prescription is appropriate, that the patient isn't on too many prescriptions, and that the directions are made clear. Everyone has their part from the pharmacist to the caregiver but there is not one person who the blame can be places