Miami Rescue Mission Clinic Case Study

At the Miami Rescue Mission Clinic (MRMC), patients came from the Miami Rescue Mission shelter and its surroundings. A very diverse community is seen at this clinic, especially, homeless patients that everyday face similar situations among them and that are prone to illicit drug use on the street or medication overuse when addiction is a medical condition. But, what are alternative treatments that can be used at the MRMC when knowing that opioids are not a good option for this population neither the clinic has a specialty in this area that can specifically deal with such condition by following already approved guidelines. In this primary care clinic, pain relief, monitor for appropriate use of chosen medications, and recommendations for effective alternatives of treatment will be primary concerns for

In addition, Vilmont (2011) states, “At the recent American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting, pain specialists said that treating patients in pain who are dependent on opioids involves a delicate balance between managing pain relief and risk of drug abuse (Vilmont, 2011).” However, Jones, et al. (2012) reported that “The use of prescription drugs for nonmedical purpose by Americans in 2009 exceeded the use of cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants combined.” Jones, et al. added, “Visits to hospital emergency departments (ED) involving the nonmedical use of prescription analgesics rose 111%, more than doubling the number of visits between 2004 and 2008…top three medications were oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone products.” SUD patients are at high risk of death when opioids are combined with alcohol, sedatives, hypnotics, and/or