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Once regarded as a curse of the urban poor, heroin now has a stronghold on many suburban, middle class communities.I was stunned to learn that heroin use is so prevalent in the quiet Baltimore suburb where I work that our local police officers carry Narcan kits. Use has become so ubiquitous in our country that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said law enforcement officials should consider carrying heroin’s antidote. From Smalltown U.S.A. to booming metropolises, this inexpensive narcotic is wreaking havoc on individuals and their families.
Sure, I admit an occasional patient with "a history of heroin abuse" who takes methadone. Rarely, I may see physical evidence of heroin use. But in most cases, patients who use heroin present as overdose cases in the ED, where they are discharged home when they are stable or admitted directly to the intensive care unit. Sadly, I recently received from the ICU a transfer of a heroin overdose patient – a handsome young man in his 20s, his entire life ahead of him, loving parents and siblings at his bedside. He was completely oblivious to everything around him – comatose, on hospice, dying before he had a real chance to live.
There was nothing I could do for him or his family other than to provide comfort. But perhaps I can do more for future potential overdose victims. You know, the heroin users admitted for a skin abscess after missing a vein or for DKA because they were too high to remember to take their insulin. Yes, we are busy; but we need to take 5-10 minutes to address the issue, to listen to the user’s story and encourage them, uplift them. Substance abuse counselors are invaluable, but by taking the time to care about our patients as individuals, hospitalists might just be the straw to break the camel’s back of heroin use for someone. Considering that most heroin addicts these days are young adults, a 10 minute investment of our time now may help buy those patients back another 40 or 50 years of their lives.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at [email protected].
Once regarded as a curse of the urban poor, heroin now has a stronghold on many suburban, middle class communities.I was stunned to learn that heroin use is so prevalent in the quiet Baltimore suburb where I work that our local police officers carry Narcan kits. Use has become so ubiquitous in our country that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said law enforcement officials should consider carrying heroin’s antidote. From Smalltown U.S.A. to booming metropolises, this inexpensive narcotic is wreaking havoc on individuals and their families.
Sure, I admit an occasional patient with "a history of heroin abuse" who takes methadone. Rarely, I may see physical evidence of heroin use. But in most cases, patients who use heroin present as overdose cases in the ED, where they are discharged home when they are stable or admitted directly to the intensive care unit. Sadly, I recently received from the ICU a transfer of a heroin overdose patient – a handsome young man in his 20s, his entire life ahead of him, loving parents and siblings at his bedside. He was completely oblivious to everything around him – comatose, on hospice, dying before he had a real chance to live.
There was nothing I could do for him or his family other than to provide comfort. But perhaps I can do more for future potential overdose victims. You know, the heroin users admitted for a skin abscess after missing a vein or for DKA because they were too high to remember to take their insulin. Yes, we are busy; but we need to take 5-10 minutes to address the issue, to listen to the user’s story and encourage them, uplift them. Substance abuse counselors are invaluable, but by taking the time to care about our patients as individuals, hospitalists might just be the straw to break the camel’s back of heroin use for someone. Considering that most heroin addicts these days are young adults, a 10 minute investment of our time now may help buy those patients back another 40 or 50 years of their lives.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at [email protected].
Once regarded as a curse of the urban poor, heroin now has a stronghold on many suburban, middle class communities.I was stunned to learn that heroin use is so prevalent in the quiet Baltimore suburb where I work that our local police officers carry Narcan kits. Use has become so ubiquitous in our country that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said law enforcement officials should consider carrying heroin’s antidote. From Smalltown U.S.A. to booming metropolises, this inexpensive narcotic is wreaking havoc on individuals and their families.
Sure, I admit an occasional patient with "a history of heroin abuse" who takes methadone. Rarely, I may see physical evidence of heroin use. But in most cases, patients who use heroin present as overdose cases in the ED, where they are discharged home when they are stable or admitted directly to the intensive care unit. Sadly, I recently received from the ICU a transfer of a heroin overdose patient – a handsome young man in his 20s, his entire life ahead of him, loving parents and siblings at his bedside. He was completely oblivious to everything around him – comatose, on hospice, dying before he had a real chance to live.
There was nothing I could do for him or his family other than to provide comfort. But perhaps I can do more for future potential overdose victims. You know, the heroin users admitted for a skin abscess after missing a vein or for DKA because they were too high to remember to take their insulin. Yes, we are busy; but we need to take 5-10 minutes to address the issue, to listen to the user’s story and encourage them, uplift them. Substance abuse counselors are invaluable, but by taking the time to care about our patients as individuals, hospitalists might just be the straw to break the camel’s back of heroin use for someone. Considering that most heroin addicts these days are young adults, a 10 minute investment of our time now may help buy those patients back another 40 or 50 years of their lives.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at [email protected].
