My empathy quotient was 48, one point above the average for a female. I agree with this because I usually can detect what others are feeling and help them with problems, but I don't do this for everyone. It's usually just for those that I'm close to. I think empathy can be taught by parents, and I also think it SHOULD be taught by parents. It's not an educator's job to teach empathy and morality, but to foster what is taught at home. Someone who is empathetic is someone who is not selective in their choice of friends. They would see everyone as a potential friend, and they would make every effort to understand that person and make them feel as welcome as they can. A person who is not empathetic would probably seem socially awkward. They can't take social queues very well, and would have a problem relating to others.
This was a very interesting assignment, and I am very interested in reading Dan Pink's book in the future when I have time.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
"A Flood of Opioids, a Rising Tide of Deaths"
Due to a rising trend in deaths related to opioids, whether it be accidental or intentional, the FDA is struggling to find the proper requirements for doctors in how they prescribe opioids. The Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) was a plan proposed in July, but a panel voted against it. The FDA is now revising this plan.
In the eyes of many patients, these opioids “are essentially legal heroin,” advisory committee member Lewis Nelson of New York University School of Medicine commented during the panel's discussion. “We need to think about how we would construct a REMS if we were going to be marketing heroin.”
Many physicians are concerned that a plan like REMS will lead to some patients being undertreated. But there is obviously a need for some plan. "Visits to emergency departments for opioid abuse more than doubled between 2004 and 2008,1 and admissions to substance-abuse treatment programs increased by 400% between 1998 and 2008, with prescription painkillers being the second most prevalent type of abused drug after marijuana. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths from unintentional drug overdoses in the United States have been rising steeply since the early 1990s and are the second-leading cause of accidental death. That increase has been propelled by a rising number of overdoses of opioids (synthetic versions of opium), which caused 11,499 of the deaths in 2007 — more than heroin and cocaine combined."
Patterns are clear among studies on abuse of opioids. Studies have shown increasing prevalence of opioids in rural areas. Men have high death rates related to opioid abuse than women, and the 45-54 age group has the highest death rate. Whites and Native Americans have higher death rates from drug overdoses than African-Americans. Most opioid prescriptions are written by general physicians, osteopaths, or internists.
REMS is attempting to take into account all factors that lead to opioid-related deaths, including inappropriate prescribing or inadequate counseling and monitoring, patients' misuse or abuse of drugs, sharing of pain pills with relatives or friends, “doctor shopping” to obtain multiple prescriptions, and diversion of opioids leading to illicit sales and abuse.
REMS will use training programs and educational materials to try to ensure that physicians prescribe the drugs only for appropriate patients and indications, prescribe them properly, and counsel patients on their safe use and disposal. In addition, fewer health care providers prescribe long-acting opioids than immediate-release ones, so limiting the REMS to the longer-acting drugs would reduce the burden on the health care system. However, many advisory committee members argued that the REMS should cover all opioids, and some suggested that methadone deserved special attention.
Most of those opposed to the plan are afraid of the costs that REMS might require, but clearly there is a need for some kind of action.
Okie, Susan. "A Flood of Opioids, a Rising Tide of Deaths." 18 Nov. 2010. New England Journal of Medicine. Web. 23 Jan. 2011.
http://www.medicaldetox.org/index.php
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/index.php
In the eyes of many patients, these opioids “are essentially legal heroin,” advisory committee member Lewis Nelson of New York University School of Medicine commented during the panel's discussion. “We need to think about how we would construct a REMS if we were going to be marketing heroin.”
Many physicians are concerned that a plan like REMS will lead to some patients being undertreated. But there is obviously a need for some plan. "Visits to emergency departments for opioid abuse more than doubled between 2004 and 2008,1 and admissions to substance-abuse treatment programs increased by 400% between 1998 and 2008, with prescription painkillers being the second most prevalent type of abused drug after marijuana. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths from unintentional drug overdoses in the United States have been rising steeply since the early 1990s and are the second-leading cause of accidental death. That increase has been propelled by a rising number of overdoses of opioids (synthetic versions of opium), which caused 11,499 of the deaths in 2007 — more than heroin and cocaine combined."
Patterns are clear among studies on abuse of opioids. Studies have shown increasing prevalence of opioids in rural areas. Men have high death rates related to opioid abuse than women, and the 45-54 age group has the highest death rate. Whites and Native Americans have higher death rates from drug overdoses than African-Americans. Most opioid prescriptions are written by general physicians, osteopaths, or internists.
REMS is attempting to take into account all factors that lead to opioid-related deaths, including inappropriate prescribing or inadequate counseling and monitoring, patients' misuse or abuse of drugs, sharing of pain pills with relatives or friends, “doctor shopping” to obtain multiple prescriptions, and diversion of opioids leading to illicit sales and abuse.
REMS will use training programs and educational materials to try to ensure that physicians prescribe the drugs only for appropriate patients and indications, prescribe them properly, and counsel patients on their safe use and disposal. In addition, fewer health care providers prescribe long-acting opioids than immediate-release ones, so limiting the REMS to the longer-acting drugs would reduce the burden on the health care system. However, many advisory committee members argued that the REMS should cover all opioids, and some suggested that methadone deserved special attention.
Most of those opposed to the plan are afraid of the costs that REMS might require, but clearly there is a need for some kind of action.
Okie, Susan. "A Flood of Opioids, a Rising Tide of Deaths." 18 Nov. 2010. New England Journal of Medicine. Web. 23 Jan. 2011.
http://www.medicaldetox.org/index.php
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/index.php
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