DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN, USA.
Center for Animal and Human Health in Appalachia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN, USA.
BMC Vet Res. 2020 Jun 22;16(1):210. doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-02428-x.
The opioid crisis continues to grow in the United States with 46,700 drug overdose deaths due to opioids in 2017 alone. Vet shopping, the practice of soliciting veterinarians for prescription medications, has been receiving national media attention in recent years. A 2014 review of Prescription Monitoring Drug Programs found less than 10 veterinary shoppers nationwide. Still much is unknown about the role of vet shopping and the opioid crisis. This study sought to understand the practice of vet shopping through the eyes of veterinarians practicing in Appalachian counties within the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, United States.
Fourteen veterinarians were asked a set of 13 questions related to vet shopping. Results indicated that 13 veterinarians in the study had heard of the phenomenon of vet shopping and eight veterinarians had personally encountered vet shopping in their practices. Qualitative analysis of the interviews identified six key themes including a need for interprofessional communication and how important a valid veterinary-client-patient-relationship is within the profession.
The study hopefully sheds some light on the how often vet shopping is encountered in practice, concerns of veterinarians regarding vet shopping, and potential areas for improvement.
仅在 2017 年，美国就有 46700 例药物过量死亡是由于阿片类药物造成的，因此阿片类药物危机在美国仍在不断加剧。兽医购物，即向兽医寻求处方药物的做法，近年来一直受到全国媒体的关注。2014 年对处方监测药物计划的审查发现，全国范围内只有不到 10 名兽医购物者。兽医购物和阿片类药物危机的作用仍有许多未知之处。本研究旨在通过在美国肯塔基州、田纳西州和弗吉尼亚州的阿巴拉契亚县执业的兽医的视角来了解兽医购物的实践。
14 名兽医被问及一组与兽医购物相关的 13 个问题。结果表明，在这项研究中，有 13 名兽医听说过兽医购物的现象，有 8 名兽医在自己的诊所里亲身遇到过兽医购物。对访谈的定性分析确定了六个关键主题，包括需要跨专业沟通以及兽医客户-患者关系在该行业中的重要性。
该研究希望能阐明兽医在实践中遇到兽医购物的频率、兽医对兽医购物的关注以及潜在的改进领域。
