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Emma Kohler

Mr. MacLeod

1/31/17

Honors English 10

Over Prescribing Medication in the U.S

Through the years there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the issue of

over prescribing medication. All across the United States there has been a growing problem in

the country, resulting in the U.S being the largest consumer of prescription drugs. To raise

government regulations prescription drugs will help control substance abuse in the U.S.

Since 1999, the rate of prescription drug sales and overdose related deaths have

quadrupled. Nearly 15,000 people died in 2015 from overdose’s (cdc.gov). This number

continues to rise as years go on. Doctors are seeing the trend of people that show up in these

emergency rooms and they are mostly similar. America needs to open their eyes and see the

enormous problem and dangers addiction can cause you and or others around you.

Why some doctors are now becoming cautious of prescribing opioids. Some doctors are

seeing the effects of drug/substance abuse. They most vulnerable to this are the homeless, people

with mental illness or substance abusers. They’re the most vulnerable because the fact most of

these people have an unstable life, which can be difficult. Some doctors are having patients

withdrawal from these drugs. The point of this is hopefully help the patient to live a healthy drug

free life. The problem that is left is that a lot of America’s doctors wouldn’t like to take their

patients off these medications. “More than 900,000 U.S. physicians can write prescriptions for

painkillers such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. As a result of a federal law, fewer than

32,000 doctors are authorized to prescribe buprenorphine to people/patients who become

addicted to those and other opioids (pewtrusts.org)”. Due to this consumers need to watch what

they’re being prescribed. They also should look into the medication and it’s effects. A countless

amount of these prescription drugs/medications would be covered with an insurance company.

Although, insurance is ideal it’s not always manageable as the Affordable Healthcare Act hasn’t

always existed. Which it can often make it more difficult to obtain these drugs, but not

impossible. Resulting in it being very obtainable for anyone to get their hands on these

prescriptions.

Opioids have become the silent killer of prescription painkillers which is causing people

to get second opinions before using them. The most common opioids are Methadone,

Oxycodone, and Hydrocodone (Vicodin). The CDC gives examples such as “Every day, over

1,000 people are treated in emergency departments for misusing prescription opioids (cdc.gov)”.

If there was more precautions and restrictions on these drugs it would limit the misuse of them.

This could be obtained by raising the government regulations on the abundance of these drug

prescriptions.

Due to the high output of medication there are more people becoming addicted or

overdosing on these drugs. More than 6.5 million people over the age of 11 used prescription

drugs. They used them for non-medical reasons too. People are often surprised or shocked that

children can be addicted to these medication’s from such an early age. These drugs have the

ability cause the same side effects no matter the age. They can be more or less severe which all

depends on the patient taking these medications. These medications are too accessible for doctors

to get there hands on them and to dispense. Painkillers are causing more than 50 people each day

to die. They can be accidental or overdose (drugwatch.com). An overdose can effect how you

function day to day and in some cases it makes the addicted person motivated to get their life
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together to live healthy. Not all of the people getting these medications are meant to take them,

and they might not even be patients. Some of the population using these drugs aren’t even

thinking about having a risk to become addicted or reliable to the drug. This is because they trust

their doctor to make them healthier and don’t see it as a drug, but more as a prescription

medicine.

Unfortunately, these medical complications are extremely common. Many people believe

these medications are essential to America’s health. These people don’t believe in substitutions

such as physical therapy and rehab, they’re convinced that drug therapy is the only option for

people’s health issues. Rehab can help anyone with a drug addiction. They lean you off the

drug/prescribed medication and teach the person how to live a healthy life without them.These

medications/drugs can be poor for your health. As severe side effects can occur the patient

should always look for possible side effects, which can effect everyday simple tasks and

behavior.

Arguably some consumers and medical professionals believe prescription drugs shouldn't

have more strict regulations. Americans filled 3.8 billion retail prescriptions in 2011. Due to the

reasons that 60% of Americans use them. This is because some believe drug therapy is the most

effective way to heal. Also, substituting these drugs in for expensive treatments or surgeries.

“Specialized firms called pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) help plan sponsors design and

manage drug benefits, …Regardless of how a program is structured, enrollees initially purchase

most of their drugs at local pharmacies, which are reimbursed for the cost by the drug plans

(ncpa.org)”. Although, these drugs can be less expensive compared to hospital stays or

treatments doctors should be watching how many medications they’re being given.
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When taking these medications be sure to take the right dosage, keep them out of reach of

children or people with high-risk of addiction. Also, be careful when mixing with over the

counter drugs, which can be dangerous in some circumstances. As a person is receiving these

medications the person can gain not only a physical dependence, but a mental dependence too.

This is because drugs such as Methadone, Oxycodone, or Vicodin have an extremely high-risk

side effect of forming an excessive habit. This can be exceedingly dangerous, and typically

where the addiction trend begins.

Consumers are now discovering that some of the medication doctors are prescribing is

not always necessary. Some doctors admitted that antibiotics are often administered to patients

when it’s not what the patient needs or will not do anything for them. The medication can be

costly and in some cases cause people health issues. With the over use of antibiotics people

become resistant to infections. When people become infected the bacteria are resistant to these

medications, sometimes resulting in death (medlineplus.gov). With the continuation of these

antibiotic’s constantly being released, and the resistance of bacteria in people continue. There

will need to be a new drug invented to fight the infections off, which will result in a more

complicated problem than what begun. This is what people are now worrying about as they’re

being prescribed multiple medications. There aren’t enough medications in the world to keep

creating and blowing through. It will effect anyone that takes these medications. Also, it often

goes unseen because it is an invisible attacker and usually not thought about/overlooked.

Doctors and physicians are now having to dispute the accusation of the money they

receive from pharmaceutical companies in correlation to how they prescribe their medication.

Some pharmaceutical companies pay their doctors to sell certain medication. From a ProPublica

analysis they found that doctors who receive these payments do prescribe medication differently
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compared to those who don’t. These doctors that received the money found to have prescribed

more brand-name drugs over doctors who didn’t. “Doctors who received more than $5,000 from

companies in 2014 typically had the highest brand-name prescribing percentages (npr.org)”. This

is a major issue because they might not always be truthful. Some doctors and physicians don’t

think that there is an issue with these companies. Their argument being that these pharmaceutical

companies pay them to sell these drugs for a reason. That reason which is that these drugs

they’re being paid to distribute have a positive effect on the populations health, and should be

administered to everyone regularly. When you’re looking for a doctor or physician you should

aim to see non-biased ones. Also, they could be just looking to make money instead for the

benefit of your health.

This shouldn’t be this big of a problem arguably the world’s most powerful nation. There

are new substitutions and ways to control the excessive amount the medication being released

each year. Even with these new advances drugs are currently taking too many innocent lives each

day. It’s too easy for doctors to prescribe unnecessary medications to consumers is leading to

health issues, death, addiction, and people are losing money. This is effecting everyone in the

U.S from the newborn’s to seniors. If nothing is done then negative effects will arise. This

dilemma has the potential to be time consuming and take a lot of hard work but as a country we

could be the answer. The solution would be to raise government regulations on doctors over

prescribing of drugs will help control substance abuse in the United States.

Annotated Bibliography

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, NCIPC, December,16, 2016,

www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/overdose.html. Accessed Jan, 27, 2017.

Since 1999 prescription drug sales and overdose related deaths have quadrupled. Most

overdose deaths involve a prescription drug. Nearly 15,000 people died in 2015 from an

overdose. The most common opioids are Methadone, Oxycodone, and Hydrocodone(Vidicon).

The CDC gives examples such as “Every day, over 1,000 people are treated in emergency

departments for misusing prescription opioids.”

The source is up-to-date and has been revised frequently. The information is in direct

correlation to my essay. The website exists is to provide facts to the American people. The

source is credible and is a government run website. Being a national organization for disease

gives them the ability to write about it while being trust worthy. Their contact is their CEO and

an email.

This information gives me the ability to use these examples anywhere I need in my essay.

These facts will help me connect to my claims and reasoning. This information will persuade the

reader to trust my side of the argument. This is valuable to my essay because it makes my essay

flow and be much stronger. It will reflect on my ideas and purpose.

Drug Watch. July, 2015, www.drugwatch.com/2015/07/29/drug-abuse-in-america/.

Accessed Jan, 26, 2017.

The U.S is the biggest consumer of prescription drugs. Americans account for the

majority of the medication in the world. According to (SAMHSA) more than 6.5 million people

over the age of 11 used prescription drugs. They used them for non-medical reasons too.

Painkillers are causing more than 50 people each day to die. They can be accidental or overdose.

The source is up-to-date and links are functional. The information directly connects to my

purpose. The intended audience is the citizens of the U.S. Although, they’re a commercial

website they back up their information with credible sources. The information exists to raise
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awareness. Their contact information includes their phone number and email. Their use of

credible source’s and quote’s from the source’s give’s them the ability to write on this topic.

In my essay I could use this information anywhere I would need an example. I would also

be able to connect my claims and reasoning. I chose this information because it helps persuade

the reader by providing facts. This is valuable to my essay because it makes it stronger. It also

positively supports my argument.

Health News from NPR, NPR, March, 17, 2016. www.npr.org/sections/health-

shots/2016/03/17/470679452/drug-company-payments-mirror-doctors-brand-name-prescribing.

Accessed Feb, 1, 2017

Some pharmaceutical companies pay their doctors to sell certain medication.

From a ProPublica analysis they found that doctors who receive these payments do

prescribe medication differently compared to those who don’t. These doctors that

received the money found to have prescribed more brand-name drugs over doctors who

didn’t. “Doctors who received more than $5,000 from companies in 2014 typically had

the highest brand-name prescribing percentages.”

This website is to help further peoples knowledge. The sources are functioning

and up-to-date. They’re a credible source because I have fact checked them with other

sources. They’re also non-biased while giving factual information. The website is a .org

so they’re looking to inform and not make a profit. They have the ability to write this

because they have real trustworthy organizations frequently used. They also have their

contact information, so if anyone had problems with the article they could be confronted.

This source helps make my argument stronger and be able to persuade the

audience better. It makes my essay clear and takes vagueness away. Also, helps back up
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my connections with evidence. It highlights and points out what I am trying to get

across. Makes my essay more effective and persuasive.

National Center for Policy Analysis, NCPA, March, 7, 2013.

www.ncpa.org/pub/st346. Accessed Feb, 1, 2017.

Americans filled 3.8 billion retail prescriptions in 2011. Due to the reasons that 60% of

Americans use them. This is because some believe drug therapy is the most effective way to

heal. Also, substituting these drugs in for expensive treatments or surgeries. “Specialized firms

called pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) help plan sponsors design and manage drug benefits,

…Regardless of how a program is structured, enrollees initially purchase most of their drugs at

local pharmacies, which are reimbursed for the cost by the drug plans.”

This website exists to educate people on this subject. It exists to raise awareness to

Americans. The source is up-to-date and links are fully functioning. The website is a .org so

they’re not trying to make money, but to share information. The information found in this source

directly connects to my essay topic. They’re credible because they have sources to back up all of

the information they’re providing. They have the right to write this on this topic because they

have trustworthy sources and multiple places to contact them.

This information will help further my argument.The information is valuable because it

backs up my points with evidence. It will strengthen my point and highlights my purpose on why

i’m writing about this topic. It will also provide me with multiple examples to use in my essay.

Also, will help with reasoning and connection.

PEW Charitable Trusts, Jan, 15, 2016. www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-

analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/01/15/few-doctors-are-willing-able-to-prescribe-powerful-anti-

addiction-drugs. Accessed Feb, 1, 2017

Some doctors are seeing the effects of drug abuse. They most vulnerable to this are the

homeless, people with mental illness or substance abusers. Some doctors are having patients

withdrawal from these drugs. The point of this to hopefully for the patient to live a healthy drug

free life. “More than 900,000 U.S. physicians can write prescriptions for painkillers such as

OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. But because of a federal law, fewer than 32,000 doctors are

authorized to prescribe buprenorphine to people who become addicted to those and other

opioids.”

This website is a .org which shows that it isn’t looking for money. It is reliable because it

matches its information with other trustworthy sources. Their sources used are fully functioning

and up-to-date. They have their contact information is open to whomever would like to use it.

They’re not a biased group and don’t have biased information. Being a trustworthy source and

having professionals that have fact checked and written these articles gives them the ability to

write this.

This source makes my essay flow and connect well. It makes my points clear and with

evidence. It helps persuade the reader to side with my argument. It is valuable to my essay

because it makes my writing more powerful and influences the reader. Which highlights all of

my points in the essay.

U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medicine Plus, December, 5, 2017,

medlineplus.gov/news/fullstory_162364.html. Accessed Jan, 27, 2017.

Even though some medicine is not necessary doctors are still prescribing unneeded

medication. Some doctors admitted that antibiotics are often administered to patients when it’s

not what the patient needs or will not do anything for them. The medication can be costly and in

some cases cause people health issues. With the over use of antibiotics people become resistant
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to infections. When people become infected the bacteria are resistant to these medications,

sometimes resulting in death.

The source is up-to-date and links are fully functioning. This website exists to educate

people on this subject. The source is from a government ran website and credible. It exists to

raise awareness to Americans. The information found in this source directly connects to my

essay topic. Since they’re a national website makes them trustworthy. Being a government

medicine correlated website gives them the right to write on this topic.

This information gives me the ability to provide examples. It will help me explain my

reasoning on this topic. This is valuable to my essay because it helps further my ideas. It will

also strengthen my argument. This highlights my purpose and ideas.