The Cost of Chronic Pain and Drug Abuse in American is Unreal

The cost and severity of pain in American is unreal. Over 116 million people, or one third of the US, experiences chronic pain, according to a 2011 survey by the Institute of Medicine. Pain that lasts over 90 days is considered chronic pain, while acute pain is under 6 weeks.

The survey breakdown showed twenty eight percent was low back pain, with twenty percent in the knees. Migraines and headaches comprised sixteen percent with neck pain amounting to fifteen percent. The remaining twenty percent was distributed fairly even between finger, hip, and shoulder pain.

Vicodin remains the most commonly prescribed medication in America, and it is a narcotic. Between, 2000 to 2009, narcotic prescriptions rose fifty percent, while the doses prescribed rose 400% from 1997 to 2007. Over 20% of US doctor visits in the US involve a narcotics prescription, with over 4 million people a year being prescribed a long acting narcotic.

In the 5 years from 2005 to 2010, ER visits due to prescription drug overdose rose 500%, with fatalities rising from 3000 in 1997 to 12000 in 1997 to over 20,000 today.

Currently, opioid pain medication abuse is the 2nd leading cause of accidental death behind car crashes in the US.

Currently, thirty eight states have prescription registry systems in America. This makes it possible for doctors to monitory patients and see if patients are getting medication from other doctors. Doctor shopping may allow patients to get pain meds from multiple sources, which is good for them if they are selling the drugs or trading them to support a drug habit.

A national registry system was passed by Congress and signed by President George Bush into law in 2005. Unfortunately, budgetary issues have prevented full implementation of the system due to lack of funding.

Other methods doctors have for monitoring patients include urine and oral drug screening, which can be very accurate and catch patient treatment transgressions. Patients may skip their narcotic prescriptions for days and then take it just prior to their appointment, but there are intricacies to the test results which can catch their “secret plan.”

Chronic pain costs between $550 billion to $635 billion in medical bills and lost productivity each year. Does the term “epidemic” apply? Absolutely it does.

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