Prescription Drug Abuse

This informative paper analyzed the prescription drug abuse epidemic among the adolescent population through a holistic lens. The prescription drug abuse epidemic has been identified as a national and community healthcare issue due to the harmful physiological effects and alarming death rates of adolescents in the United States. Current healthcare policies by the federal government, pharmaceutical companies, and various organizations were researched to show the progress made to counteract the epidemic; and possible consequences of these newly implemented policies were reviewed and scrutinized. In response to the prescription drug abuse epidemic, a physician accountability system was proposed as a potential solution. It was found that the collaborative effort of healthcare practitioners, along with new federal guidelines, will decrease access and availability of prescription drugs to adolescents. Therefore, decreasing the number of adolescents abusing prescription drugs in the United States