Essay Sample on Texas Hospitals Tackle Opioid Abuse Crisis in Emergency Departments

Introduction

The target health problem is the misuse of opioids. With the increasing rates of opioids abuse in Texas, the Behavioral Health Council of the Texas Hospital Association is looking for steps of creating a working group to assist hospitals in handling the opioid epidemic. The targeted areas are the emergency departments because patients ask for prescription opioids for the management of pain. At the same time, patients who overdose heroin and related opioids come to the emergency departments seeking treatment. These patients are often complex and consume resources in the emergency departments. This has an effect of slowing productivity levels and hospitals efficiency, which affects the hospitals from a quality and cost standpoint. Hospital leaders are still identifying ways of treating this population with the continuing growth of the opioid epidemic (Decareau, 2017).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

National and Local Data on Opioids Epidemic

Cities across the United States of America are struggling with keeping up with the wake of the tragedy caused by the opioid epidemic. The hardest-hit areas are the Midwest and Northeast, where deaths caused by overdose have increased in the last decade. The opioid crisis has placed significant pressures on states to prevent the rising rates of deadly overdoses and the destruction it leaves behind, such as unemployment, crime, and high suicide levels. Texas continues having the lowest overdose deaths caused by opioids abuse. In 2017, there were 1458 deaths caused by an overdose of opioids, which is a rate of 5.1 for every 100,000 individuals. This is a lower statistic compared to the national rate of 14.6 deaths for every 100,000 persons. The rising trend in the overdose deaths caused by opioids abuse was prevalent in cases connected to heroin or synthetic opioids. For example, the deaths caused by fentanyl increased threefold from 118 to 348 deaths in 2007 and 2017, respectively. The impact of the addiction to opioids affects all generations and all the socioeconomic lines. Therefore, the Texas Department of State Health Service (DSHS) understands the need for addressing the misuse of opioids in Texas (Decareau, 2017).

Who Is Affected by the Problem the Most?

Young adults aged from 18 to 25 are the biggest abusers of prescription opioid drugs. The young adults abuse these drugs for all types of reasons, such as helping them to study better or get high. The abuse of opioids has quickly developed into one of the most pressing health issues due to its effect on patients. At the same time, opioids abuse is a significant problem due to the economic impact it has on hospitals and the entire health care system. In 2014, over 1,700 young adults died from prescription drugs, while many more required emergency treatment for opioid abuse (Decareau, 2017).

Long-Term Health Effects of Opioids Abuse

The continued abuse or use of opioids leads to addiction and physical dependence. The body adapts to the drug's presence, meaning that withdrawal and drug symptoms are present if the use of opioids is stopped or reduced. These symptoms include muscle and bone pain, diarrhea, restlessness, cold flashes, vomiting, and insomnia. Opioids addiction and misuse have adverse physical and mental impacts such as weakening the immune system, slowing the rate of breathing and increased risks of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and hallucinations. Addicted individuals have trouble accomplishing satisfactory high due to the increase of their tolerance. Moreover, opioids abuse leads to opioid-induced constipation, where there are considerable pain, proliferation, and even blockage of the intestines. Bowel proliferation causes death in extreme cases. While preventing the use of opioids in Texas, the United States of America's healthcare budget is strained because this is an ever-increasing issue which has an unforeseeable end. The effects of opioids abuse and addiction underline why the US government has introduced measures towards curbing its widespread use such as surveillance of drugs (Keller, 2019).

References

Decareau, E. (2017, June). The Opioid Crisis: How Texas Hospitals Are Fighting Back. Retrieved from https://www.tha.org/Publications/Texas-Hospitals-Magazine/Texas-Hospitals-May-June-2017/The-Opioid-Crisis-How-Texas-Hospitals-Are-Fighting-Back

Keller, A. (2019, July 13). Opioid Side Effects. Retrieved from https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/prescription-drugs/opioids/effects/