...condition. Lloyd was an obese, weighing over 430 pounds. It took more than five emergency workers to bring him down the stairs and into the ambulance. Initially, he was believed to be experiencing a heart attack. Lloyd Johnson, a respected attorney, a father of five, and a long time diabetic was well known around the community as both successful and arrogant. Lloyd Johnson referred to himself as the great legal mind, running a website called thelegalscholar.com. It is believed that he had recently asked his wife for a divorce and she was not happy. On September 20, Farmington Hills Fire Department responded to a usual call asking for medical assistance. However, this case soon became anything, but usual. Police found bloody bedding, prescription medication, syringes,...
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...College Students and Drug Abuse The irresponsible use of drugs and alcohol by college students has always been an issue for university campuses, but the problem has become more and more frequent and has grown in familiarity with every passing generation. In past years, the problem has not only multiplied in frequency, but has also grown in danger. Now students are abusing not only recreational drugs like Marijuana and Cocaine, but also prescription drugs like Ritalin and others like it such as Adderall. "As many as 20 percent of college students have used Ritalin or Adderall to study, write papers, and take exams..." (Jacobs 2). Medications like Ritalin are used to provide energy and concentration when a person cannot achieve them through regular means. Students take medication like Ritalin to help them deal with loss of sleep so they can stay up all night to cram and still do well in class. Students are now using similar medications like Adderall that are released over long periods of time so they can keep an energy high throughout an entire day instead of just one or two class periods. On some campuses, if you’re not using Ritalin or Adderall, you are just increasing your risk to fall behind. As one Columbia student said, “If you don’t take them, you’ll be at a disadvantage to everyone else” (Jacobs 3). This previous statement is unfortunately all too true, these types of prescription medications are so popular and commonplace that students attending certain...
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...that OTC product can maintain in the market for a much longer time, because consumers have the tendency to self-diagnose their common ailments, and obtain a drug without prescription. Secondly, Pepcid is a safe drug, and its indication is a common chronic problem in public that is relatively easy to self-diagnose and self-treat. By making such a drug an OTC product, the company can gain access to a larger consumer base and thus gain more profit. Pepcid as a prescription drug has already gained its market as a brand name drug. This creates a demand for the general public for OTC version of Pepcid. Additionally, usually FDA takes several years to process the approval of a prescription-to-OTC switch. Before the patent expires, JJM can take the advantage of patent protection and enter the OTC without competition and thus occupy a larger consumer market earlier. Factors include indication, drug safety, and brand awareness. The indication has to be a common and relatively less severe condition that many patients tend to self-diagnose and self-treat, to ensure the primary demand from the OTC market. There has to be sufficient data to show that the drug does not have serious safety issues even if not closely monitored by a physician. A company should also consider the brand awareness. JJM should allow sufficient time for the drug to be accepted as a...
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...appropriately. If a person builds a tolerance to alcohol, he or she will most likely need to drink every day as well as consuming larger amounts in order to achieve the same feeling. One of the most prominent and well-known instances of alcoholism and substance abuse is Betty Ford. Betty Ford was married to President Gerald R. Ford and was thought to be one of the most powerful first ladies in our history. Betty Ford’s achievements include her sponsorships of breast cancer awareness and women’s rights (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Even though Betty Ford was acknowledged and respected for these achievements, she turn out to be an even greater inspiration in society when she admitted to and overcame her lifetime battles with prescription drugs and alcohol. Betty Ford was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was the only daughter and youngest of three children (The National First Ladies’ Library, 2012). Even though Betty had a pleasant and positive childhood, her mother was considered to be a perfectionist and she expected a lot from her children. Her father was a salesman who travelled frequently and who was hardly ever at home. Betty’s father died when she was sixteen years old and, because he rarely spent time with the family, she did not know until after he died that he was an alcoholic. Her older brother Robert was also an alcoholic. Betty’s initial...
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...advice. Most commonly, it refers to medication or drug compliance, but it can also apply to other situations such as medical device use, self care, self-directed exercises, or therapy sessions. Both the patient and the health-care provider affect compliance, and a positive physician-patient relationship is the most important factor in improving compliance,[1] although the high cost of prescription medication also plays a major role.[2] Compliance is commonly confused with concordance. Concordance is the process by which a patient and clinician make decisions together about treatment.[3] Non-compliance is a major obstacle to the effective delivery of health care. Estimates from the World Health Organization (2003) indicate that only about 50% of patients with chronic diseases living in developed countries follow treatment recommendations.[1] In particular, low rates of adherence to therapies for asthma, diabetes, and hypertension are thought to contribute substantially to the human and economic burden of those conditions.[1] Compliance rates may be overestimated in the medical literature, as compliance is often high in the setting of a formal clinical trial but drops off in a "real-world" setting.[4] Major barriers to compliance are thought to include the complexity of modern medication regimens, poor "health literacy" and lack of comprehension of treatment benefits, the occurrence of undiscussed side effects, the cost of prescription medicine, and poor communication or lack of trust...
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...Prescribed Into Addiction Our family will always wonder if a holistic approach to his back pain could have saved my brother from being a statistic of the opiate overdose epidemic. My brother, Jeremy, was one of over 125,000 people who have lost their life since 2000, to the epidemic of opiate overdoses. There are dozens of safe alternative treatments for chronic back pain that do not involve taking medication or having an operation. We will struggle the rest of our lives wondering if tried holistic treatment if he would still be with us. Jeremy broke his back skateboarding, when he was in 11th grade, which was the first time doctors prescribed painkillers. At that time, we were unaware of how dangerous prescription painkillers can be and how easy it is to become addicted. An alternative could be physical therapy, chiropractic treatment or medical massage. These treatments can be just as effective. Jeremy was a dare-devil, who never was afraid of any physical challenges whether it was skateboarding, snowboarding or many other sports. These sports lead to a lot of injuries and more painkillers. He was a Union Carpenter, which is hard physical labor, and it added to his pain. His biggest motto was no matter what you do to work. No matter the pain that he was in, he would go to work. Physical therapist should teach exercises to make his back stronger, than he would suffer less and not become addicted to painkillers. By the time he was 25, he was in a lot of physical pain, especially...
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...Interstate Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs - A Priority Issue for Partnership for a Drug Free America Abstract One ongoing priority of the Partnership for a drug free America (PDFA) is supporting Prescription drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP). With adolescent prescription drug abuse on the rise PDFA started a 5- year campaign called the Medicine abuse project to prevent teen prescription drug abuse. A vital tool taking precedence in this project is ensuring that Interstate prescription drug monitoring programs are implemented, utilized, and funded in all 50 states. PDFA points to research from the CDC showing the rise of prescription drug abuse amongst teens ,and their recommendation for using prescription drug monitoring programs to gain control over this epidemic. In supporting PDMPs, The Partnership for a Drug Free America is rallying with the Congressional caucus on prescription drug abuse and their initiatives to support nationally interconnected PDMPs. Recently, PDFA has received a great deal of backlash, and their motives for supporting interstate PDMPs have come into question. Mainly, because of their financial support from Pharma Pharmaceuticals. However, PDFA address all funding questions responding that Pharma provides funding solely for educational grants. The use of Interstate PDMPs comes into controversy with states like Florida, suggesting that utilizing interstate PDMPs violates...
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...The Drug Abuse Epidemic and Today’s Teenagers Drug abuse among teenagers has been an issue since the 1980’s when programs such as D.A.R.E., (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), were implemented. Using the slogan “Just Say No”, the program trained school officials and police officers to teach techniques and children and adolescents effective ways to resist experimenting with all drugs, including tobacco and alcohol. While there has been some success, this epidemic has become a major problem in today’s society that is not getting better due to the availability of prescription and over the counter medications, continued funding cuts for athletics and other extra-curricular activities and the increase in teenagers being left unsupervised. The availability of prescription and over the counter medications has made abuse easier among teens. Many parents do not even realize the dangers that are in their own medicine cabinets. “In 2011, 22% of 12th graders indicated misuse of a prescription drug without medical supervision in their lifetime; and 15% over the past year.” During that same time, one in 12 high school seniors reported that in the past year they had obtained the prescription pain reliever Vicodin, and one in 20 high school seniors used OxyContin for non-medical uses. And 70% of those teens surveyed had stated they obtained them from family and friends. (“Prescription” 2011). “Enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock...
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...successful as people had imagined in counteracting depression (Johnson & Kirsch, 2008, p. 1). Extensive research and studies show that natural remedies are better than antidepressants for treating depression because there are fewer side effects, more health benefits and according to most studies, antidepressants are no more effective than placebos. Although there are many natural remedies for treating the symptoms of depression, this paper will focus on St. John’s Wort, omega-3 fatty acids, SAM-e and exercise. These four natural remedies are the most widely used and studied alternatives to treating depression. Side Effects According to Dr. Hyla Cass (2007) and a study done in 1998, prescription medication puts more than one million people in the hospital every year. The study also states that prescription medication kills more than one hundred thousand people per year. Doctor Cass (2007) states that there are almost no deaths from herbal use and that the side effects from herbs are usually mild. One report says that for every one million people prescribed antidepressants in a year, 30.1 of them will die from an overdose. Doctor Cass (2007) quotes Norman Farnsworth, Ph.D., (as cited in Cass, 2007) saying that “plants cause less toxic problems than any other known substances and that complications from herbal medicine are rare,” (p. 1-2). Side Effects of Antidepressants When using antidepressants, the side effects are, more often than not, much worse than dealing with the sadness...
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...registered nurse can do. LPN’s cannot work without the supervision of an RN or a doctor ("Difference Between LPN and RN", 2012, p. 1). Jerry cannot at any time prescribe a medication or issue a refill orders because it is out of his scope of practice. He does not have any license to do that. No matter what medication it is, even for high blood pressure, it is illegal for him to prescribe medications because he is not licensed to do it. Respondeat superior is a legal doctrine in which the employer is liable for their employees’ actions ("Respondeat Superior", 2009, p. 1). Even though the employer is responsible for any malpractice, it still applies to everyone who is working on the workplace. If he prescribed the medication or call in the prescription himself, he would not be protected because he does not have any license to do this. My advice is do not do it. He should call Dr. Williams and ask him to issue the refill. In this way, any malpractice and lawsuits can be prevented. This is the right thing to do both ethically and legally. The major legal issue that may affect his decision is that he cannot prescribe medications because it is out his scope of practice and he does not hold any license to do it. The major ethical issue is that it is not right to do something that you are not...
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...Danielle Gulbranson Professor Scott English Comp 2 February 19, 2013 Depression Can Be Beat, No Drugs Needed If you suffer from depression, you know how hard it can be to cope. One of the well-known solutions to depression are antidepressants but before getting prescribed medicine, you should know that there are ways to overcome severe depression without drugs and that twenty to fifty percent of those suffering from depression find no relief from the antidepressants they are prescribed. Half of those who do find relief, discontinue use of their medication due to the side effects and those who stopped the use of meds have had their symptoms return (Love 13). In the story “A Blizzard under the Blue Sky” written by Pam Houston, the author is depressed. The author consults with a psychiatrist about her depression in which the doctor recommends to her anti- depressants. She thinks that the best remedy for depression is not to be dumbed down by meds but to be immersed in the wild and face death itself. In the wild, Houston experiences dangerous situations such as mountain climbing and hunting wild animals. Her mood soon improved as she focused on the beauty of the wilderness. Pam Houston used nature to invigorate her mind and calm her nerves. People may not relate to camping as the best way to ease one’s mind, but however there are other outlets to achieve peace and serenity. One of the ways I keep myself from getting depressed is watching crime shows featured on the Identity...
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...Although illegal and prescription drugs are dangerous to use, in some ways prescription drugs are more dangerous. Prescription drugs are just as deadly and addictive as illegal drugs and often just as easy to get purchase without a prescription. All drugs can pose a risk and undesirable side effects, sometimes even serious ones. As to my opinion, I consider prescription drugs to be more dangerous to use. People are under the false illusion that prescription drugs are safe to use. The common misconception is that prescription drugs are not as dangerous or addictive as illegal drugs because the medication is prescribed by a physician. Some people believe that it is not as dangerous and the chance for addiction is not as high when in fact when not taken correctly prescription drugs are just as addictive. Prescription drugs are only safe when taken by the person they are prescribed to and always under a physician’s care. People experiment with prescription drugs sometimes because they feel it will make them have more fun, lose weight, fit in with the crowd and in the case of some students help them study more effectively. Prescription drugs can be easier to get than street drugs. Family members or friends may have them, but prescription drugs are also sometimes sold on the street like other illegal drugs. In 2009 a study from the Center of Disease Control, estimated that 20 percent of people in the United...
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...Is it good to foster a culture that reinforces failure? (Chapter 8) The fact that failure is something that most businesses have a difficult time accepting, does not mean it is not a blessing in disguise. In this reading selection, the reader can understand more thoroughly the importance of accepting failure in a product’s life cycle and its silver lining for companies. It takes a very skilled leader-manager to recognize the benefits of failure. Whether a failure costs a company almost everything it has, or it is done inexpensively, it is one of the most vital components of a company’s growth. To be innovative in a world where products become obsolete in almost the same moment they are invented, failure needs to be looked at through the perspective of, “How can we benefit from this not working?” Many companies take even more risk by presenting the fact that failure with new products is likely when presenting to potential investors. It is extremely important to do so because many will not take that concept into consideration when analyzing a new product, it may even be overlooked altogether. Some may take the viewpoint that speaking of failure before a new project is initiated would be detrimental to the product, and furthermore, the company’s success. However, failure needs to be recognized as part of the risk-taking, innovation process. It allows a company to understand its customers and their needs on a much greater scale. It also provides what needs to be reinvented...
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...Morris HCS/490 July 17, 2011 Jennifer Pharr The Aging Population The aging population does not seem like anything other than people just receiving older. Referred to as the Baby Boomers this demographic of people are those ages 65 and older. People may think the demographics of our population have no affect on health care or our economy. This paper will include the information that proves our countries demographics do impact health care and the economy. For example, information was gathered about the target area, the aging population, and the general impact that demographic group has on the health care market. This information will also include how the aging population will increase the nation’s health care costs and prescription drug costs. This paper will include information about how a chronic disease wellness program may affect the cost for the aging population and how these issues can be addressed. Statistics Because of this proposed “baby boom” generation rapidly increasing, there has been an increased health care cost. The health care cost per person for people over age 65 is three to five times greater than that of people under the age of 65 (United states census bureau, 2003). This increased cost along with other factors such as long-term care and advancements in technology could increase health care cost even higher. More than 50 million of these Baby Boomers are sparking a demand for products but a certain type of environment to meet their needs...
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... Alicia Moore ETH [Check spelling] /125 [Do not leave spaces around a slash mark] 11/21/13 Dariush Ershadi My business of choice for the SWOT analysis is “The Discount Pharmacy”. The Discount Pharmacy’s main goal is to provide prescription medications for customers at the lowest prices on the market. Their goal is to be able to [Wordiness: Remove "be able to"; the sentence will read more smoothly without it] sell prescriptions at reduced prices by maintaining efficiency and targeting a specific group of individuals. The group of individuals would be the individuals who pay for prescriptions themselves. The Discount Pharmacy is a LLC in Portland Oregon operated by John Reeleaf. The Discount Pharmacy has many strengths going for them. Their main goal is to provide customers with the lowest priced prescriptions possible. In today’s economy this is something that is needed. Many individuals are in need of medications but are in the position where paying for them isn’t possible. Elderly have the most problem with this and [Grammar: A run-on sentence requires a comma before "and" (or other conjunction) linking main clauses] it may come down to paying for prescriptions or having a meal to eat. By focusing on the individuals who pay for medications...
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