Prescription Medication Nation: The Marvels, the Mistakes and the Misuse

Drilling deeper into the report reveals that:. ER visits for suicide attempts associated with women taking drugs intended to counter anxiety and insomnia rose 56 percent, from 32, to 50, Hospital visits for attempted suicides involving a class of anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines rose 67 percent.

More Women 50 and Older Landing in ERs for Drug-Related Suicide Attempts

Those involving alprazolam Xanax went up 74 percent. Hospital visits for suicide attempts in which the insomnia drug zolpidem Ambien played a role rose percent, from 2, visits to 8, visits, for all women, but only were statistically significant among women 35 to ER visits for women's suicide attempts associated with pain relievers grew more than 30 percent, from 36, to 47, Suicide attempts involving narcotic pain relievers remained relatively stable overall, but climbed 67 percent among women who took hydrocodone Vicodin , from 4, to 7, They soared percent for suicide attempts involving oxycodone Oxycontin , from 1, to 5, A closer analysis found statistically significant increases in ER visits for attempted suicide involving oxycodone for women 21 to 34, and attempted suicide involving hydrocodone for women 35 to Those age ranges span the years during which women typically marry, have children, build careers and reach menopause, all of which can contribute to stress.

Adult addiction specialist Dr. Howell, a past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, said the report findings reflected higher overall rates of prescription abuse and addiction. They weren't surprising, she said, because as doctors spend less time with their patients, they rely more on pharmaceutical treatments for physical and psychological problems.

If I'm not sleeping very well, the doctor is more likely to give me a prescription, rather than talk to me for 5 minutes about sleep hygiene," she said. Even suicidal patients have trouble getting to see a psychiatrist. As a result, "many more primary care professionals are put in the position of prescribing for anxiety and depression," even when their patients have health insurance and the means to see a specialist.

Whitney Houston Death: Highlighting Accidental Overdoses - ABC News

Patients initially prescribed powerful pain medications for sports injuries or after surgery may discover those drugs help them relax or sleep better and begin "self-medicating their psychiatric symptoms and not just the physical pain," Howell said. Howell said she suspects that women in their 50s, who tend to suffer aged-related aches and pains and have problems stemming from hormonal changes, are complaining to their doctors about "things that may not sound totally like depression or anxiety.

With so many primary care doctors and specialists handing out so many powerful pills, it's little wonder that patients end up with more medications than they need in their medicine cabinets. Overdose is a very common way to try to attempt suicide. Although statistics show men more likely to kill themselves than women, women are more frequently treated for attempted suicide, according to figures compiled by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In , there were more than , ER visits by women trying to hurt themselves and women accounted for 3 out of 5 ER visits for drug-related suicide attempts.

In a motion for a new trial, Walgreens argued that the size of the verdict was excessive and "contrary" to evidence in the case.

Lawyers for the company wrote that jurors had been "unduly influenced by passion, prejudice or other matters. A Walgreens pharmacist failed to counsel Warren about the danger of simultaneously taking the two drugs — methadone and tramadol — and also failed to double-check the prescription with his doctor, court filings by Warren's family charged. The alleged failures were violations of Walgreens' safety procedures, the family charged.

Arguing that the company was not negligent, Walgreens lawyers contended that Warren bore some responsibility for his own death, according to a trial summary prepared by the Warren family attorney. Walgreens spokeswoman Laurie Meyer declined to comment on the accuracy of the summary because the company is weighing an appeal of the verdict. She said, however, that the prescription was filled as prescribed. The year-old was given an incorrect prescription by a Walgreens pharmacist instead of his gout medication. The pharmacist, who later admitted he'd been abusing prescription painkillers, dispensed Glipizide, a drug that caused Kulisek's kidneys to fail.

The error forced him to undergo regular dialysis and started what proved to be a fatal health slide, argued David Axelrod, a lawyer who represented the administrator of Kulisek's estate.

Lawsuit: Walgreens prescription error killed man

Attorneys for Walgreens acknowledged that Kulisek was given the wrong drug but argued that the mistake did not cause his death. They filed a motion for a judgment in the company's favor notwithstanding the verdict. Among other arguments, Walgreens contended that its conduct did not rise to the level of recklessness legally necessary to justify the punitive damages awarded by the jury. Walgreens said the company regularly upgrades its Intercom Plus pharmacy computer system in an effort to maximize patient safety and prevent repetition of any prescription errors that occur.

Among other things, the system features alerts about sound-alike medications and provides screen images of the original prescriptions from doctors.

Primary Care Doctors Prescribing Meds for Problems Psychiatrists Once Handled

Schuler, however, said the error that killed Terry Paul Smith occurred despite the Walgreens precautions. The court complaint he filed for Smith's family accuses the company of corporate negligence, an allegation echoed by Pearl Smith but questioned by the judge assigned to the case. In a September pretrial ruling, Judge L. Haldane Taylor wrote that the incorrect dosage directions "appears to be an act of mental mistake as opposed to any intentional act or wanton and gross conduct.

The ruling denied Schuler's effort to seek punitive damages against Walgreens. Schuler said he still hoped to raise questions during the trial about Walgreens' corporate responsibility, a strategy Smith's widow supported. Somebody didn't care enough to be right. Do you check your prescription for accuracy after you pick it up? Within 36 hours, he was dead, curled up on the shower floor.

The day Terry Paul Smith died Plagued by neuropathy, a disorder of the peripheral nerves that caused pain in his legs and back, Pearl Smith's husband had been taking prescriptions for OxyContin and Neurontin, she said. Smith said she awoke the next morning, and found him dead in the shower. Smith's death was one of several recent fatality cases involving Walgreens: Negligence or 'mental mistake'? Walgreens prescription error killed man. Trump hails passage of criminal justice bill.

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