MEDFIELD

It was designed to be a twelve hour time release form of narcotic to meet the needs of around the clock pain control. The bonding agent actually measures the level of Oxycodone in the blood, releasing more or less painkiller as needed. It was said to be a breakthrough, high potency pain reliever for chronic pain and cancer. Ironically, out of 6.5 million Oxycontin prescriptions in the United States during 2000, cancer specialists accounted for only three percent. Oxycontin is a very addictive narcotic.

In the 2008 the drug Oxycontin had a relationship to over 14,800 overdose deaths, this account for more deaths than cocaine and heroin combined (“The Promotion and Marketing of Oxycontin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health Tragedy”). From the person using the medication in a way not intended resulted in more than 475,000 emergency room visit in 2009, and this number is expected to raise at least five percent every five years (“The... ... middle of paper ... ... from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Treating_opiate_addiction_Detoxification_and_maintenance.htm Smith, J. (2013, October 8). WV MetroNews – West Virginia ranks first in drug overdose deaths. Retrieved from http://wvmetronews.com/2013/10/08/west-virginia-ranks-first-in-drug-overdose-deaths/ Skarnulis, L. (2012).

Antibiotics that are broad-spectrum should be given within one hour of sepsis being identified, making sure to identify the patient’s allergies. The antibiotic choice will depend on the source of infection. Review antibiotic therapy daily to reduce toxicity, and risk of resistance (McClelland, 2014). One of the most common antibiotics used for the treatment of sepsis is cefTRIAXone. The generic name for this medication is Rocephin.

Welcome to the twenty-first century, where cancer has become an epidemic, and the cancer industry makes more and more money with each diagnostic test and chemotherapy treatment administered. Because each patient might need a diagnostic test, which can cost thousands of dollars, the client emerges as a financial asset for some doctors. Rather than paid on a salary basis, these oncologists receive payment per chemotherapy protocol where each patient equals financial gain. In America, we practice capitalism. Last year, my grandmother had an oncologist that put her on an intensive chemo regimen for her bladder cancer and explained that she would receive treatments Monday to Friday for six months on a one-week-on, one-week-off basis.

It was introduced by Oates and his co-workers more than 50 years ago for the treatment of hypertension. Over the years it has been replaced by newer class of antihypertensives in the general population. Nevertheless, during pregnancy it is still the first line agent in treating non complicated pregnancy induced hypertension [1, 2], especially in developing countries. Advantages of methyldopa include the ability to maintain the reduction of blood pressure while the patient is in recumbent position along with the relative absence of orthostatic hypotension. The drug has a half life of two hours with a bioavailability of 42%.

The pharmaceutical industry is developing 256 drugs and vaccines to target infectious diseases ranging from hepatitis to influenza, according to a survey to be released Wednesday by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Infectious diseases were responsible for nearly one-third of all worldwide deaths in 1996, the survey said. AIDS is a major contributor to the death toll, but those drugs were considered a separate category and not included in the survey. The industry has 98 drugs in development to fight the disease. Vaccines are the focus of the most attention, the study found, with 96 under development for a broad range of diseases.

"The truth is high prices are much more associated with record-breaking profits and enormous compensation for top drug company executives." Pollack added, "Drug companies' commitments to research and development are dwarfed by those companies' expenditures for marketing, advertising, and administration." In 2005, the pharmaceutical industry was, once again, the most profitable U.S. industry, and profit margins in the industry were nearly four times the average of Fortune 500 companies. Three companies (Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Abbott Laboratories) received twice as much in net profits than they spent on research and development. Three other companies (Eli Lilly, Schering-Plough, and Allergan) received more money in net profits than they spent on research and development.

Vioxx, a selective COX-2 inhibitor drug designed to treat pain and inflammation, is one of such products that became the company’s bestselling-prescription painkiller; after the FDA approved the drug for treatment in May of 1999. The blockbuster drug generated more than 2.1 billion dollars in sales throughout the United States alone and proved to be a winning product for the company. A few years later in 2004, the drug was voluntarily recalled by Merck after results from a clinical trial [it conducted] resulted in findings of increased heart attacks amongst users who had been on the drug for over eighteen months. (Presley, 1) Prior to these findings, studies conducted by VIGOR, Cleveland Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente also yielded results of the drugs’ risks associated with increased heart attacks; however, Merck ignored such warnings—including a warning letter from the FDA about the risks associated with the drug. Once the company learned of the findings from its internal stu... ... middle of paper ... ...ht, J. R. (2012).

Their published study found that between 1981 and 2001, medical related bankruptcies have increased by an astounding 2,200 percent. This when compared to the 360% growth in all personal bankruptcies during the same period, is simply a figure that cannot go ignored. “About twenty-five years ago, filing for bankruptcy because of debts from medical problems was virtually unheard of.” (Frosch, 2005) Today medical costs are the second leading cause of personal bankruptcy, topped only by job loss. One factor affecting this rise in personal bankruptcies relating to medical costs is the dramatically increasing health care costs in the United States. “In 2002 American paid an average of $5440 in medical expenditures, up $419 from the previous year alone.” (Frosch, 2005) The major increases in medical costs can be attributed to technological advancements and the high costs associated with break-through drugs.

Pharmaceutical companies intend to profit from the d... ... middle of paper ... .../147318/100,000_americans_die_each_year_from_prescription_drugs,_while_pharma_companies_get_rich>. Petersen, Melody. Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Smith, Brendan L. "Inappropriate Prescribing."