Free Resource! 50 Drugs Every EP Should Know

Authors: Steve Elsbecker, DO and Aryan J. Rahbar, PharmD BCPS
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada

Source: Flickr

Looking for a quick drug reference on medications used frequently in emergency medicine (EM)? Do you wish that this reference was presented in card format for brief study sessions? Do you like getting stuff for free? If you answered yes to all three questions then you should check out the new resource, 50 Drugs Every Emergency Physician Should Know, available for download at the American Academy of Emergency Medicine/Resident Student Association (AAEM/RSA) website.

The Epidemic of Prescription Drug Abuse

Photo Attribution:
By J. Troha (Photographer)
[Public domain or Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Originally published: Dr. Wen’s blog: http://whendoctorsdontlisten.blogspot.com/

Original author: Leana Wen, MD MSc

Recently, I learned of some shocking statistics:

• Every year, pharmacies dispense 257 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers — one for every adult American.
• While the U.S. makes up less than 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume 80 percent of its total opiate supply.
• 1/3 of people who used illicit drugs for the first time start by using a prescription drug.
• Prescription narcotics kill 6 times more people per year than heroin.

As an emergency physician, I prescribe narcotic drugs for pain every day. I began to wonder how complicit doctors are in furthering this epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

My recent article in NPR explores this struggle, between relieving people's pain, and possibly fueling this worsening epidemic.