Matching Items (4)
Description
In this paper, I assess the current state of the opioid epidemic in the United States which has caused countless deaths since the 1990s. I analyze the current state of the pharmaceutical industry and how it is involved in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the United States through its supply chain. I identify four main issues which lead to the continuation of the opioid crisis: the shift to a continuous manufacturing model, the consolidation of pharmacy benefit managers, pharmaceutical companies' influence on medical professionals prescribing opioids to patients and the creation of an informal supply chain in which patients distribute their unused prescription pills. To address these issues and alleviate the problem of the opioid crisis caused by supply chains I propose that pharmacy benefit managers implement blockchain technology to increase supply chain visibility, increasing buyer power in the market and developing a reverse logistics system within the supply chain to dispose of unused prescriptions.
ContributorsHicks, Kyle (Author) / Keane, Katy (Thesis director) / Konopka, John (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Twilight Sleep (Dammerschlaf) was a form
of childbirth first used in the early twentieth century in Germany in
which drugs caused women in labor to enter a state of sleep prior to
giving birth and awake from childbirth with no recollection of the
procedure. Prior to the early twentieth century, childbirth was
performed at home and women did not have anesthetics to alleviate the
pain of childbirth. In 1906, obstetricians Bernhardt Kronig and Karl
Gauss developed the twilight sleep method in 1906 to relieve the pain of
childbirth using a combination of the drugs scopolamine and morphine.
Twilight sleep contributed to changing childbirth from an at home
process to a hospital procedure and increased the use of anesthetics in
obstetrics.
ContributorsCartwright, Jessica (Author) / Arizona State University. School of
Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project
Encyclopedia. (Publisher) / Arizona Board of Regents (Publisher)
Created2018-05-16
Description
While accounting for more than 6025 nonfatal and 2350 fatal overdoses in Arizona between January 2021 to September 2022, Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is the most common relapsing disorder, characterized by addictive habits caused by the brain’s reward neurocircuits (Degenhardt et al., 2020). Access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) is necessary to prevent opioid dependence and possible overdoses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between MOUD prescription numbers, retail prescription costs, and individual drug costs in rural and urban Arizona areas. Heatmaps were created to illustrate the geographical relationships between the average changes overtime. The total averages between the prescription numbers and retail prescription costs over time yielded a moderate positive linear relationship between the two. The relationships between the number of MOUD prescriptions and the average retail costs per zip code allowed for the identification of the most and least affected zip codes in the state as well as rural areas. Twelve rural zip codes were identified as having high prescription numbers with high retail costs whereas the rest had either high prescription numbers with low retail costs, low prescription numbers with high retail costs, or low prescription numbers with low retail costs. Based on these findings, potential social and economic variables may be able to be identified in future studies.
ContributorsPawley, Kathleen (Author) / Martin, Matthew (Thesis director) / Tong, Daoqin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor)
Created2022-12
Description
Latest estimates show that roughly 188 individuals in the United States die everyday due to an opioid-related overdose. This dissertation explores three avenues for
mitigating opioid use disorder (OUD) and the opioid epidemic in the United States (1.)
How can researchers and public health professionals identify areas most in need of
treatment for OUD in an easy-to-use and publicly accessible interface?; (2.) What do
practitioners see as opportunities for reducing barriers to treatment?; and (3.) Why do
differences in opioid mortality exist between demographic groups? To address question
one, I developed an interactive web-based to assist in identifying those counties with the
greatest unmet need of medically assisted treatment (MAT). To answer question two, I
conducted a study of stakeholders (medical providers, peer support specialists, public
health practitioners, etc.) in four New Mexico counties with high unmet need of MAT. to
identify cultural and structural barriers to MAT provision in underserved areas as well as
opportunities for improving access. To answer the third question. I conducted a
systematic review of peer-reviewed literature and government reports to identify how
previous research accounts for race/ethnic and sex disparities in opioid-related
mortality. While many opioid mortality studies show demographic differences, little is
known about why they exist. According to the findings of this systematic review, research
needs to go beyond identifying demographic differences in opioid-related mortality to
understand the reasons for those differences to reduce these inequities.
ContributorsDrake, Alexandria (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Jehn, Megan (Committee member) / Scott, Mary Alice (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023