Question

Max Points: 5.0 Although many substances are addictive and can have harmful effects, many of these same substances have legitimate medical use (e.g., vicodin). How might we as health professionals ensure patients get the medication they need while also attempting to prevent or cope with addiction?

Answer 1

Doctors can help patients understand instructions for taking the drug (e.g., vicodin) i.e. the correct dose, the route and the possible side effects. As the prescription drug abuse happens due to increased dosage consumption, taking drug by different route and taking it with another substance like alcohol. This happens generally because of not being informed about the side effects and the contradiction of a prescription drug.

Further, health professionals can ensure; patients get the medication they need while also attempting to prevent or cope with addiction by having a medically supervised detoxification process, which will wean the patient off the drug while managing the withdrawal symptoms. After the detox the rehabilitation should follow, which can be done both in inpatient, where a 24/7 focus on sobriety and learning the skills to recovery can be generated in the patient by the aid of the medical staff or it can also be done outpatient within the comforts of a patients friends, family and home. Doctors should ensure that the patient communicates, with his or her friends and family and has the right kind of emotional support while going though the with drawl symptoms of the detox process. Thus it is the duty of a doctor to ensure that his patient gets the right type of customized detox process.