Opioid misuse has garnered attention as a global epidemic in recent years. In the past 25 years, opioid usage among older adults has increased nearly ninefold.
The older adult population warrants specific attention because it is more likely to be prescribed opioids for chronic medical conditions, most notably chronic pain, and after medical or surgical procedures. The most commonly prescribed opioid medications include hydrocodone or Norco, oxycodone or Percocet, Tylenol No. 3, Tylenol No. 4, tramadol, and when the patients are in the hospital setting, morphine and Dilaudid.
One of the common reasons why the general population highly uses opioid medications is that patients and providers equally want a quick fix for the problem at hand. They do not want to address the source of the problem, which may vary for different people.
A typical example would be giving chronic pain medications to someone who has had low back surgery for chronic low back pain. Based on the current scenario, patients in this clinical situation typically want to take pain medications to control the pain at that moment rather than undergo physical therapy to help address the source of the pain.
Again, there are two reasons for the example above. Firstly, not all patients get equal access to affordable and quality health care when addressing concerns such as pain. Secondly, people usually fail to recognize that receiving a positive response to their pain management takes commitment and a certain amount of time.
The best way to prevent opioid abuse from becoming worse than an epidemic is to try nipping the problem in the bud by opening more pain management centers, especially in rural health care settings and medically underserved areas where there seem to be more people in need of good chronic pain management. Another way is to improve knowledge about opioid reversal with the help of Narcan in case of opioid overdose.
Anyone who would like to ask me a medical question relating to the health of older adults can email me at questions@apexmedicalgroup.org. I hope to provide a helpful answer in a future issue of this newspaper.
Disclaimer: The information shared in this column is based on current practice guidelines but is not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.
