Running Head: POLITICAL ACTIVISM 1

Transcription

1 Running Head: POLITICAL ACTIVISM 1 Political Activism Paper: Naloxone Cortney O Connors Old Dominion University

2 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 2 Political Activism Paper: Naloxone The development of public policy related to healthcare is rooted in the degree of political activism of individuals in all of the healthcare professions. The purpose of this paper is to fulfill the opportunity to take part in this political activism as a nursing student. Many bills are in line to be reviewed by the Virginia General Assembly at any given moment. It is not a surprise that several of these pending bills involve the ever-changing healthcare industry due to constant technological and scientific advancements in the field. Currently being debated is a bill regarding the policies related to the use of the drug Naloxone, an opioid antagonist, to prevent fatal opioid overdose (Naloxone, 2015). House Bill 1458 House Bill 1458 introduces two main concepts and requests that revisions should be made to the parts of prior legislation that do not coincide with these concepts. First, this bill proposes that a legal prescriber should be able to prescribe Naloxone to a family member or friend of a person who is a known opioid drug abuser in high risk of fatal overdose (Naloxone, 2015). In this, the patient who is prescribed the Naloxone can administer it to the known drug abuser if the patient believes that person is experiencing or might soon experience a potentially fatal opioid overdose (Naloxone, 2015). Reasonably, the bill revision would allow the patient to possess the Naloxone without criminal penalties (Naloxone, 2015). Furthermore, this bill ensures that neither the prescriber nor the patient receiving the Naloxone for its administration to a known opioid drug abuser is to be civilly or criminally held responsible for resulting injury (Naloxone, 2015). The second revision that this bill requests is for first responders and other emergency services personnel to be able to use a standing order or other predetermined protocol to

3 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 3 administer Naloxone (Naloxone, 2015). These individuals are not to be held civilly or criminally responsible for possession or injuries resulting from its administration either, as proposed by this bill (Naloxone, 2015). Supporting House Bill 1458 There are three main reasons to support the use of Naloxone first responders as well as family members and friends of opioid drug abusers. First of all, Naloxone is a safe pharmacological intervention (Hodgegson & Kizior, 2014). This is evidenced by its lack of contraindications other than the rare case of previous allergy (Hodgegson & Kizior, 2014). Also, there are no known side effects to this medication, and even more impressively, there are no adverse effects if the medication is given to a person who does not actually have opioids in their system (Hodgegson & Kizior, 2014). In this, even if the person administrating the Naloxone mistook the receiver s symptoms to be an opioid overdose when they were actually of different etiology, resulting injury would be highly unlikely. Further supporting House Bill 1458 is the fact that there is a real need for the takehome administration of Naloxone (in which family and friends of the opioid abuser are prescribed the Naloxone) as well as first responder administration of Naloxone in the case of opioid overdose. In the United States alone there were 14,000 cases of fatal opioid overdoses in 2007 (Zaller, Yokell, Green, Gaggin, & Case, 2013). This number does not include the incidences of morbidity or injury resulting from opioid overdose that did not end in death. Accentuating the need for this bill are the results of a qualitative research study that was performed by interviewing 20 injection opioid drug users to gain their perspectives on opioid overdose and Naloxone administration (Zaller et al., 2013). This research study showed that each and every one of the participants had either experienced opioid overdose themselves or had

4 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 4 witnessed another in opioid overdose (Zaller et al., 2013). A different research study found that 75 percent of its subjects witnessed an opioid overdose in the past, 30 percent of which were fatal (Bennett & Holloway, 2012). Also, research study participants have reported multiple inaccurate ways of home-treating opioid overdose that they have seen used, such as putting the affected person in a cold shower to wake them up (Zaller et al., 2013). These inaccurate ideas can postpone actual medical treatment and increase the incidence of death (Zaller et al., 2013). By implementing this bill, opioid drug abusers can have access to an effective treatment through family and friends or first responders, therefore decreasing preventable overdose fatalities. Lastly, this bill is supported by the fact that take-home Naloxone programs have been proven effective, especially when participants were educated about opioid overdose beforehand. Research has shown that there is a 90 percent survival rate of individuals that are given takehome Naloxone for opioid overdose when the Naloxone administers were educated upon receiving the prescription (Bennett & Holloway, 2012). Conclusion Supporting factors of passing House Bill 1458 include the safety of the drug Naloxone itself, the valid need for an opioid antagonist as a emergency intervention, and its proven effectiveness. The benefits of having Naloxone accessible to emergency responders as well as family and friends of opioid abusers outweigh the risk for adverse effects of this proposal. A requirement to educate those receiving take-home Naloxone should be considered if this proposal is passed.

5 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 5 References Bennett, T., & Holloway, K. (2012). The impact of take-home naloxone distribution and training on opiate overdose knowledge and response: An evaluation of the THN Project in Wales. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 19(4), Hodgegson, B. B., & Kizior R. J. (2014). Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. Naloxone; administration in cases of opiate overdose H.B. 1458, 143 Cong. (2015). Zaller, N. D., Yokell, M. A., Green, T. C., Gaggin, J., & Case, P. (2013). The feasibility of pharmacy-based naloxone distribution interventions: A qualitative study with injection drug users and pharmacy staff in Rhode Island. Substance Use & Misuse, 48(8), doi: /

6 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 6 Date: February 4, 2015 Appendix A James Leftwich Delegate: City of Chesapeake Virginia House of Delegates 2015 General Assembly Building P.O. Box 406 Richmond, Virginia Dear Delegate Leftwich: My name is Cortney and I am a nursing student at Old Dominion University. My community health class is encouraging me to research and be politically active about a bill related to the healthcare field. To complete this assignment I am to write to my delegate regarding the issue, which is the subject of this letter. The bill that is of interest to me is House Bill 1458 titled Naloxone: Administration in Cases of Opiate Overdose. I am in support of this bill and feel you should be too. The bill involves the ability of physicians to prescribe Naloxone, and opiate antagonist, to family members or friends of those with a high risk of overdosing on opiates. The bill also proposes that first responders or other emergency services personnel be able to hold and administer this drug as needed in the case of an opiate overdose based on a standing order or policy. After reading many research articles including those from journals Substance Use and Misuse and Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy I have identified three main reasons to support this bill. First, as noted from Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook, Naloxone is a safe drug with no known contraindications (other than in the unlikely case of allergy), no expected side effects, and when given to a person who is not overdosed on opioids there is no adverse effects. Secondly, there is a real need for this bill, as there were 14,000 cases of fatal opioid overdose in the United States in 2007 as noted by Substance Use and Misuse. The third reason to support House Bill 1458 is the fact that there have been successful programs similar to the one proposed in this bill in other areas around the world such as in Wales. The research article related to this program is in the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy. Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope that these points are remembered when you are developing a standpoint about House Bill Sincerely, Cortney O Connors ODU Nursing Student

7 POLITICAL ACTIVISM 7 Appendix B Honor Code I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned. Signature: Cortney O'Connors