The question of pain management is associated with such issues as patients’ and nurses’ fears related to addiction, appropriate and inappropriate approaches to pain management and dosage, as well as the treatment of addicted patients among other aspects. Furthermore, the question of managing pain also allows for speaking about the ethical issue of producing generic versions of drugs. All these aspects need to be discussed in detail to understand what barriers can cause the development of patients’ and nurses’ fears regarding drug addiction.
Those patients who suffer from acute and chronic pain are often afraid of becoming addicted to pain medications, such as OxyContin and Vicodin. These fears are valid when the consumption of medications is not scheduled (Adams, Holland, & Urban, 2014). Still, if nurses are careful while selecting doses of OxyContin and Vicodin for patients, it is possible to avoid any problems related to addiction. However, there are cases when nurses’ fears make them choose doses of medications inappropriately. Researchers note that some patients can remain ‘undermedicated’ if nurses are not sure regarding doses or if they avoid provoking patients’ addiction (DePriest & Miller, 2014). When the dosage of drugs can depend on patients’ sufferings and requests, it is necessary to refer to practitioners’ prescriptions and notes regarding a schedule of treatment. Nurses should focus on their decision-making associated with selecting appropriate doses of medications that can be abused.
If patients have a history of abusing drugs, more attention should be paid to guaranteeing the scheduled administration of medications, including opioids. The experience in organizing pain management can demonstrate that the scheduled administration of drugs can lead to preventing cases of addiction. Thus, such cases are rather rare if the treatment is controlled (Adams et al., 2014). Therefore, nurses should pay much attention to selecting doses while treating those patients who have a history of drug addiction. Nurses’ goals, in this case, are to avoid provoking addiction and to relieve pain in patients while using the most appropriate dosage of medications.
One more point that requires the discussion is the question of using OxyContin and Vicodin, as well as their generic versions. In order to provide adequate treatment for patients with chronic pain and avoid causing them to buy expensive versions of drugs, it is necessary to develop effective policies that can regulate pain management in healthcare facilities and at home for those patients who need these drugs daily. In addition to focusing on national and local policies, it is also important to regulate the question from the perspective of individual clinicians who prescribe different doses of opioids. According to Cheatle, Comer, Wunsch, Skoufalos, and Reddy (2014), “risk stratification and continuous assessment will help to guide physicians to the level of care required for each patient” (p. 87). Clinicians and nurses are responsible for checking a patient’s history of using drugs and educating this patient regarding the risks of using medications during prolonged opioid therapy.
While developing a treatment plan for persons who require pain medications, it is important to refer to a range of issues. Many problems are associated with fears of patients and healthcare providers regarding drug addiction. It is possible to note that risks of addiction-related to the use of opioids are usually high. However, clinicians’ and nurses’ tasks in this case are to predict possible problems and develop the most effective schedule for a patient depending on his or her situation.
References
Adams, M. P., Holland, L. N., & Urban, C. Q. (2014). Pharmacology for nurses: A pathophysiologic approach (5th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Higher Education.
Cheatle, M., Comer, D., Wunsch, M., Skoufalos, A., & Reddy, Y. (2014). Treating pain in addicted patients: Recommendations from an expert panel. Population Health Management, 17(2), 79-89.
DePriest, A. Z., & Miller, K. (2014). Oxycodone/Naloxone: Role in chronic pain management, opioid-induced constipation, and abuse deterrence. Pain and Therapy, 3(1), 1-15.