Abstract

The opioid Epidemic is largely known around the world, no matter what state or country you are from, chances are you've heard about the problem. Maybe you have experienced it or maybe you know someone who has dealt with opioid addiction. Throughout this paper we are going to discuss several factors directly related to the opioid epidemic. We will talk about the research, impact on society, treatment options, hidden cost and what the outcome could possibly be. This is a growing epidemic in America today that continues to be on the rise. The opioid crisis is costing America billions of dollars in lost taxes.While the overdosing, misuse, and addiction of opioids are on the rise, that means that there are more patients coming into the hospitals, these patients need the medical treatment they deserve but it makes it harder on the staff to do so. The reason being is that they have already built up their immune system and levels of resistance to the drugs, to tolerate more than the normal dosage.

Therefore the staff has to adjust the dosage to higher amounts and to addicts, that is the worst scenario because they are essentially getting the “high” they are anticipating. In some cases outside of a medical facility this is increasing the death rates from overdose. If we can't get this issue under control the future for medicine will be so constricted that ones that truly need their narcotics will not be able to gain access without having a much higher co- pay, or potentially not being able to afford them at all. This is really hard on the patients that have a set monthly income that only can afford a medicine on a budget, and sometimes that medicine can not be supplemented with the generic brands. There are numerous studies and amounts of research on this topic available for our access via books, internet, articles, and many more sources.

Year Manuscript Completed

Fall 2021

Senior Project Advisor

George Barton

Degree Awarded

Bachelor of Integrated Studies Degree

Field of Study

Health Care Administration

Document Type

Thesis

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