Quote 1:  “The problem of prescription drug abuse in this country is significant. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (^{DEA, n.d.} ), in 2009, 7 million Americans 12 and older used prescription drugs non-medically within the past month, representing a 13% increase  from the previous year. There has also been an increase in prescribing rates of controlled drugs (Worley, 2012, p. 1).”

Quote 2:  “To obtain these controlled drugs illicitly, patients visit numerous prescribes, a practice called doctor shopping and considered a major source of diversion of controlled drugs. Doctor shopping is significant to nursing because advanced practice nurses (APNs), including nurse practitioners, make up a significant portion of health care providers who prescribe medications in the United States.” (Worley, 2012, p. 2).

Quote 3: “Doctor shopping and prescription drug abuse affects psychiatric nurses directly, as several psychiatric medications are often the target. Both issues are huge societal problems, and psychiatric nurses and nurse researchers are in a unique position to research, document, detect, and deter (Worley, 2012, p. 7).”