Opioid Crisis at the University of Vermont Medical Center

Opioid Crisis at the University of Vermont Medical Center
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Opioid Crisis at the University of Vermont Medical Center
Introduction
The opioid problem in Burlington and surrounding areas began to manifest itself over the last few years, with more people brought to the University of Vermont Medical Centre. The patients showed several complications ranging from addiction to other infections of the skin or bone. While the problem was not evident at first, the increase in cases prompted an analysis of the patients to find the root cause. The results showed a rise in addiction to prescribed medicines by patients together with an increased tolerance of the same, leading to an increase in dosage by the patients.
Financial and physical issues
Hospitals such as Vermont face huge financial problems and bear the grunt of the opioid crisis due to the increased need for emergence care. Emergency care from other causes already claims a considerable part of the available resources in the hospital, thus an increase in case form opioid misuse leads to an overload. Operating costs increased because more funds are required to maintain the necessary equipment needed for such scenarios as well as the human resource requirements. Furthermore, hospitals are forced to pay more insurance costs so that they can cope with the increasing strain on their medical resources.
On the other hand, physical strains have also impacted the hospital with paramedics and emergency staff spending more time attending to patients suffering from an opioid overdose. An increase in patients requiring care, thus directly impact doctors and nurses since more work has to be put in to address all incoming issues (Leffler, 2019). Since opioid use involves the use of both prescribed and illegal drugs, the number of cases is high with the increased probability of casualties. An increase in the working hours negatively impacts motivation levels since the health workers do not have enough time to rest between their shifts. Furthermore, the workers require to work optimally to increase the satisfaction rates of patients since proper treatment ensure that patients’ needs are effectively met.
Demographic populations, providers, and regulatory bodies affected
Prescription opioid drugs tend to affect individuals with underlying chronic conditions mainly, hence the medications are normally used to alleviate the pain. Therefore, an older population was highly affected by the misuse of such opioid, which led to an increase in addiction (Hurstak, et al., 2017). Furthermore, such individuals were most likely to have infections caused directly by the use of these drugs caused by their addiction or the tolerance to opioids. On the other hand, younger people were mostly affected by addiction to illegal opioids found in their communities. These addictions are the most likely to lead to overdose since they are unregulated and taken as a type of recreational drug.
Health and insurance providers are directly affected by an opioid crisis since they are directly linked to the health industry. Health providers in the area have to adjust to being able to cope with the increasing cases related to opioid use (Hurstak, et al., 2017). This includes their pain management drugs regiment that may cause more problems for its patients since they are mostly opioids. On the other hand, insurers are also affected since they provide services not only to patients but also to the hospitals. With an increasing number of patients heading to health providers to get treatment, the insurance companies are forced to pay for such services.
On the other hand, regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that directly oversee such drugs' approval into the market, their treatment options thus come into question with more research required to find solutions for the increasing problem. There is an increase in public interest if approved drugs continually cause problems in patients, hence new policies must be put in place to protect public health.
Ethical considerations in the context of a Christian worldview perspective
Ethics come into play in the use of opioids since it affects a huge portion of the community in which patients and victims stay. Therefore, all individuals in the health industry are affected by the increased use of these drugs. Looking at the impact that such opioids have in the community, Christian perspectives tend to provide judgments on users and practitioners in the industry.
Firstly, on a patient view, Christians look at drug abusers as having sinned due to the misuse of drugs, whether prescribed or illegally. Patients who use the drugs illegally however, face more backlash since drug use and abuse are not condoned under Christianity. Therefore, such patients become alienated due to their deteriorating lifestyles that lead to an increase in crime and other vices in surrounding communities. Furthermore, their families that stick with the patients also seem to condone the behavior hence face the same backlash from a Christian standpoint.
More so, from a health provider perspective, working in the field provides a dilemma concerning their personal beliefs and values. A drug user that has become addicted or overdosed may be perceived as an abuser hence creating a negative perception all around the individual in the healthcare setting. However, from an ethical standpoint, health care providers must remain neutral and offer their services without bias. Therefore, such providers must learn to approach such situations objectively by upholding professional...