Essay Sample on Drug Therapy

Introduction

Drug therapy which is also referred to as pharmacotherapy is a term that is applied in medication to treat diseases. Drug therapy is the treatment of mental disorders by applying the prescribed drugs. Drugs promote the health functioning of the body by interacting with the receptors to reduce or cure an illness. Medications must be well researched and tested before administering them to patients. However, drugs have some anticipated effects when they react with other medicines, certain foods, or herbal remedies. The method of drug therapy administration depends on the condition and patient under treatment. The medication will be either in liquid, capsule, in pill form, or can be injected through needles into the patients' body. A hospital's pharmacotherapy system involves the community-based pharmacotherapy specialists and providers of drug therapy services. For instance, methadone prescription may be done by a practitioner and the drug delivered to the patient by a pharmacist.

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Drug therapy is a prescribed treatment for illnesses that originate from biological factors. Drug therapy treats numerous psychological disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive condition, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity syndrome, panic attacks, and Tourette's syndrome among others. Whenever the patient shows a high level of compliance with the recommended treatment option, drug therapy becomes effective. The effectiveness of drug therapy medications has helped people to lead an active life and have a higher functioning level that a patient would have without pharmacotherapy.

Research shows that the effectiveness of drug therapy is improved when used in conjunction with traditional therapy (Likic, & Francetic, 2006). Following the introduction of drug therapy, people such as mental health professionals considered the medication as a method of controlling undesirable behaviors. In traditional drug therapy, patients who visited psychiatric hospitals were medicated without being treated. However, this has changed since nowadays it is common for patients to undergo various treatments while still under medication. Sometimes the medications enable patients to participate well in treatments. Benefits of Drug Therapies

Drug therapy while used to treat depression has some benefits. For instance, when a patient suffering from depression is given drugs, the drug will induce instant gratification, and the patient will start feeling better quickly. The drug can provide a short-term as well as a long-term solution through constant usage. Additionally, a placebo effect usually occurs when a patient administers a drug. The patient tends to believe that the drugs have positive effects and the patient will feel that he/she is alleviated by depression. Drug therapy is also an easy way as it only involves taking pills a day. This enables them to be responsible for their recovery and move on with life (Likic, & Francetic, 2006). Proper support and control over the compulsive use of drugs can help to address issues in areas such as in employment to solve problems of stress and depression.

The essence of drug therapy is to circumvent unnecessary uses of drugs. Antidepressants do not contain any specific moods improvement effects. However, they work by correcting the neurochemical imbalance associated with pathological depression. After using drug therapy, monotherapy occurs which allow patients to estimate the effects and the side effects correctly which can be checked using clinical evidence. Additionally, drug therapy is effective in treating mood, eating, and anxiety disorders. There are drugs that when taken will make these patients feel better.

Pharmacotherapy reduces the risk factors of HIV and other blood-borne diseases. When patients who have HIV/AIDS are under medication, the drug reduces the effects of the virus, and it will help them to live a healthier life as long as they administer the drugs. Pharmacotherapy has been linked with increasing the retention rate in treatment as well as improving the birth outcomes for the perinatal addicts. Drug therapy can help to reduce heroin use. For instance, methadone treats morphine and heroin addiction. When the right quantity is administered, the person's desire to inject themselves with illegal drugs reduces. This also minimizes the risk of contracting transferrable blood diseases such as HIV. Pharmacotherapy is used to treat substance abuse (Kratochvil & Daughton, 2009). They work best with medication-assisted treatment and help the drug addicts to recover and stop using drugs. The benefits of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of drug dependence is that it will lead to detoxification, opioid maintenance, and relapse prevention.

Moreover, the mortality rates decrease when drug therapy is used. Most of the diseases and conditions that patients suffer from are curable when the right drug is administered. Thus, cases of deaths will decrease as drugs will treat most diseases. For instance, over the years, the prevalence and incidences of heart failure have been on the rise. Research indicates that drug therapy has contributed to the improved survival and outcomes from this high-risk group. A study on the impacts of cardiovascular drugs on elderly people suffering from atrial fibrillation was conducted in Sweden. The findings were that the chances of survival increase with anticoagulants as compared to when no treatment offered. Patients who were administered thiazides, calcium channel blockers and anticoagulants has high chances of living longer lives (Backstrom, Ekman, & Mjorndal, 2007).

Drawbacks of Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy use is debated as a problematic use of drug since it involves several complex social and personal issues. The drawbacks of using pharmacotherapy for treating depression are that the improvements of the medications are not present after stopping the medication. Additionally, some excessive use of the antidepressants might cause side effects hence the patients will only use the drugs for a while. Similarly, some drugs can cause negative side effects such as losing appetite for food or sex.

When the wrong dose of drugs is administered to patients, it increases the chances of deaths. Thus, physicians and doctors should ensure that the right drugs are given to patients to reduce the mortality rates. Additionally, a patient may take an overdose to relieve pain. This increases the health risks, and the patient might die or suffer permanent disability. Moreover, other drugs can lead to allergic reactions. Such drugs will not be effective for curing diseases, and a patient might suffer as he/she try to look for other options.

Drugs such as methadone have long application in opioid medication. However, the drug has been linked with increased risks of dependency. Individuals with addiction from heroin and alcohol have been using methadone for a long time. Methadone should be used in conjunction with comprehensive programs such as behavioral monitoring and drug counseling. Therefore, if such measures are not taken into consideration, the drug may affect the patients negatively.

Moreover, excessive use of medication to cure depression and problems such as a headache can make the body to get used to the drugs and fail to have any impact when the drug is administered. Thus, the drugs to be consumed only when necessary to avoid making the body insusceptible to these drugs. Additionally, drugs can lead to stigmatization. For instance, consuming depression drugs or drug to cure substance use, one may be abandoned by close friends and family because they may think that he/she suffers from incurable diseases.

Drug administering may make a patient become used to them, and he/she may feel weak when not taking them. For instance, older adults must regularly consume drugs to relieve joint and back pains. They feel weak whenever they have failed or forgotten to take medicine. Additionally, pharmacotherapy treatment is not effective as psychotherapy in treating mental disorders. This is because drugs do not focus on the behavior and thoughts of a person. Thus, a drug may relieve pain but will never take away the psychological problems that made the patient experience mental disorder.

Implications of Pharmacotherapy to Nursing Practice

Nurses involvement in drug therapy is critical to medication safety. Thus, the preparing and administering medication is of core significance to nursing practice. Effective treatment of some ailments such as acute pain involves nurses and doctors understanding the patient's goals for pain relief, types of drugs to administer, and the previous history with analgesics. The nursing practice entails understanding and ensuring that quality care is given to the patient (Dilles, Stichele, Van Rompaey, Van Bortel, & Elseviers, 2010). Nurses must ensure they monitor patients as they receive drug therapy for incontinence. The nurses should also continue sponsoring continence and provide comfort to patients as they recover.

Pharmacotherapeutic activities such as giving medication to patients, monitoring the medications, and following the drug safety measures that are performed to patients form functions of nurses. Drug therapist offers guidance to patients on the type of medications to take. These activities form the parts of the nursing practice as they are taught how to care for patients. Nurses involvement in drug safety monitoring ensures that patients are given the correct medications (Krenzischek, Dunwoody, Polomano, & Rathmell, 2008). They also help to improve the identification of negative drug reactions. The nurse sends the side effects and drug effects on the patient to the physician who will adjust the medication and know the correct drug to administer to the patient. A nurse should have some pharmacotherapeutic experience to help in assessing the patient.

Aging patients have multiple health problems thus they need extra drugs to maintain their wellbeing. The sensitivity and therapeutic drug interactions increase with age whereby the aged are vulnerable to adverse effects when multiple drugs are taken simultaneously. Thus, they need close nursing to detect their responses to pharmacotherapy. It is the role of every nurse to ensure that they know about administering the correct drugs. Pharmacotherapy requires that the nurses administer the right drug to the right patient at the right time and the dose.

Conclusion

Thus, this essay demonstrates that drug therapy if not administered well by the patient can lead to adverse effects. It is the role of the pharmacotherapy and the nursing practice to implement measures that ensure that the adverse and risk factors as a result of medication are minimized. This is to ensure that the patient receives the best care. Hence, both the advantages and disadvantages of drug therapy are vital consideration areas when offering medication to patients.

References

Backstrom, M., Ekman, E., & Mjorndal, T. (2007). Adverse drug reaction reporting by nurses in Sweden. European journal of clinical pharmacology, 63(6), 613-618.

Dilles, T., Stichele, R. V., Van Rompaey, B., Van Bortel, L., & Elseviers, M. (2010). Nurses' practices in pharmacotherapy and their association with educational level. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(5), 1072-1079.

Kratochvil, C. J., & Daughton, J. M. (2009). Review of ADHD pharmacotherapies: advantages, disadvantages, and clinical pearls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(3), 240-248.

Krenzischek, D. A., Dunwoody, C. J., Polomano, R. C., & Rathmell, J. P. (2008). Pharmacotherapy for acute pain: implications for practice. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 23(1), S28-S42.

Likic, R., & Francetic, I. (2006). Benefits and drawbacks of implementation of PBL elements into a new course on applied...