Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Parents of Young Adults Addicted to Heroin Seek Greater Access to Health Records
The parents of two young adults who were addicted to heroin
are advocating for families to have greater access to their children’s
health records. They say parents’ input is needed because of the nature
of addiction, and young adults’ limited decision-making capabilities.
Maureen Fitzpatrick says current health care regulations prevented
her from helping her daughter, Erin, receive the treatment she needed.
Erin, 21, is undergoing treatment for heroin addiction, and is waiting
for a court date to face burglary charges, the Associated Press
reports. Erin refused long-term addiction treatment at the age of 16.
Her drug test results were not disclosed to her family, so they did not
know to seek addiction treatment for her.
Fitzpatrick wants to change federal legislation requiring a minor’s
written consent to disclose drug or alcohol treatment to parents. “It’s
been doors closed in our face,” she said. “And I really blame some of
these laws for not allowing me to get my daughter the care she needed.”
Gregg Wolfe’s son Justin died of a heroin overdose at the age of 21.
Gregg is calling for a change to the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act, so that young adults’ mental health or addiction
treatment records can be shared with their parents while they remain on
the family’s health insurance. Wolfe says he did not know Justin was
using heroin until after he died. Justin had told his doctors and his
therapy group about his heroin use, but the information was not shared
with his father because Justin was a legal adult.
Margo Kaplan of Rutgers University, who specializes in health law,
said she is concerned about changing privacy laws, which are designed to
protect young patients from possible abuse. “It’s important to note
that weakening these protections will also affect minors with far less
supportive parents — minors who want to seek help, are getting
treatment, but only feel safe doing so if they can do it without their
parents being notified,” she said.
One-Fourth of Teens Have Misused or Abused Prescription Drugs at Least Once: Study
One-fourth of teens have misused or abused a prescription
drug at least once in their lifetime, a 33 percent increase over the
last five years, a new study finds. One in eight teens say they have
taken Ritalin or Adderall when it was not prescribed for them, according
to the study by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and the MetLife
Foundation.
The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study
(PATS) found parents and caregivers have lax attitudes and beliefs
about teen medicine abuse. Almost one-third of parents say they believe
prescription stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall, used to treat
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can improve a teen’s
academic performance, even if the young person does not have ADHD.
Of teens who said they abused prescription medications, 20 percent
did so before age 14. One-third of teens say they believe “it’s okay to
use prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them to deal with an
injury, illness or physical pain.” The study found 27 percent
incorrectly believe that misusing and abusing prescription drugs is
safer than using street drugs.
“These data make it very clear: the problem is real, the threat
immediate and the situation is not poised to get better,” Steve Pasierb,
President and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org, said in a news release.
“Parents fear drugs like cocaine or heroin and want to protect their
kids. But the truth is that when misused and abused, medicines –
especially stimulants and opioids – can be every bit as dangerous and
harmful as those illicit street drugs.”
Tracey and Jeff Gerl of Cypress Texas thought they had adequately
warned their son, Nick, about the dangers of drugs. Yet he started
smoking marijuana at age 12. He and his friends took prescription drugs
such as Ritalin, Xanax and codeine from their parents’ medicine
cabinets. His parents realized something was wrong when Nick was 14, and
sent him for substance abuse treatment, where he stayed for 7 ½ months.
He has been sober for a year. Tracey Gerl says she should have trusted
her intuition when she first thought Nick might be using drugs. She told
the Associated Press, “If it doesn’t seem right, it’s not. Don’t ever be naive to think it’s not my kid.”
The new study puts the spotlight on the issue of teen abuse of ADHD
medication, according to Alain Joffe, MD, MPH, Director, Student Health
and Wellness Center at Johns Hopkins University and Former Chairman,
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse. “We need to
make sure that children and adolescents receive a thorough assessment
before being placed on stimulant medications, and that if medication is
prescribed to a child, it should only be as one component of a
comprehensive ADHD management plan,” he said. “We don’t really know what
long-term effects these ADHD medications will have on the
still-developing brains of adolescents who do not have ADHD. We do know
they can have significant side effects, which is why they are limited to
use with a prescription.”
Teen abuse of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin
has remained stable since 2011. The study found 16 percent of teens
reported abusing or misusing any prescription pain relievers at least
once in their lifetime, and 10 percent said they did so in the past
year.
Parents are much more likely to talk to teens about marijuana or
alcohol than prescription drugs. Teens reported that during the last
conversation they had with their parents about substance abuse, only 16
percent said they discussed the misuse or abuse of prescription
painkillers, and 14 percent discussed any type of prescription drug. In
contrast, 81 percent said they have discussed marijuana and 80 percent
have discussed alcohol.
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