Creating various medications to treat various illnesses is one of the most important medical advances. Opioids are a type of medication that is used to relieve pain. The opium poppy plant, which also contains the narcotic opium, naturally includes the substance. Opioids were used to treat acute pain in the 1980s, and chronic pain became a major industry in the 2000s. Despite the medicine’s success in treating pain, loose regulations by pharmacies and drug distributors allowed for the unlawful distribution of addictive opioids. The discontinuation of non-opioid analgesics due to the negative health effects has given opioid medications a new market potential. This case explores the reasons for the opioid crisis in America. The lawsuit investigates the roles of prescription drug manufacturers, including Florida’s American Pain and Purdue Pharma, which produces OxyContin, drug distributors like McKesson Corporation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and criminal drug dealers. Students are expected to comprehend the various root causes of a complicated societal issue, including the duties of both legitimate and illegitimate enterprises; hence the topic at hand is the misleading marketing practices of Purdue Pharma.
Stakeholder Analysis
Any person, organization, or business impacted by organizational activities is a stakeholder. They affect how the business operates. Internal stakeholders take part in operational procedures directly or financially. Patients and local communities are among the group’s stakeholders that suffer due to the firms’ actions in this case. In this instance, the local government acted as an activist to stop people from abusing opiates for illegal purposes. The case demonstrates how the federal government has strictly regulated opioid supply and manufacture through legislation like the Controlled Substances Act (Lawrence, 2020, p.447). The law mandated drug distributors, including McKesson, implement sufficient safeguards against prescription opioid addiction. The CSA then granted authority to several federal organizations, including the DEA and the FDA.
The chemicals were processed and under the oversight of the Food and Medicine Administration, which ensured their accuracy and compliance with the specifications of the drug. The DEA has set annual production limitations for several rules to satisfy necessary demands while preventing diversion. When McKesson settled with our Justice Department, the CDC considered the opioid overdose crisis the worst. Non-governmental groups performed the functions of both trade unions and unions (Lawrence, 2020, p.447). For instance, one of the trade organizations that advocated the expanded use of opiates for financial gain was Purdue Pharma, a private pharmaceutical business (CBS). The business created a new medicine called OxyContin for various chronic pain sufferers. American Pain organized unions, built partnerships with distributors and pharmaceutical firms, and was well-known for improperly prescribing opiates for non-medical uses.
People who live together provide social cohesiveness and order within a community. One of the tenets of social justice and a component of the common good is health. Therefore, it is in the local community’s best interest to participate in efforts to preserve and improve its health. The local population views attaining a healthy status as crucial to fostering progress. For instance, patients and family members who buy opioid drugs do so to enhance their health. They have the impression that medical centers and practitioners have their best interests in mind and offer high-quality treatment for diagnosis, prescription, and follow-up treatments. The script describes the rationale behind their extensive opioid purchases for treating chronic pain and other conditions (Lawrence, 2020, p.447). In this circumstance, the interests of the larger community are split. While some people are concerned about the public’s health and safety by raising awareness of the drug’s risks and harmful health effects, some pharmaceutical and healthcare organization employees continue to advocate for using new prescription medications to further their interests. For instance, Purdue Pharma’s marketing effort, in concert with a strong support network of dishonest physicians, pain clinics, and researchers, allowed the drug business to attract many users as the risk of OxyContin started to circulate in the public health community. He made enormous money by lying about the advantages and hazards of opioids.
The government and pharmaceutical firms are the two stakeholder groups having the biggest stake in this situation. Governments are major decision-makers who greatly impact public health and safety. Therefore, they are responsible for creating measures that protect patients against deceptive legislation. High legal costs may arise from breaking these rules. For instance, in this situation, businesses, including McKesson, paid hefty fines to the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to implement adequate safeguards to stop the abuse of prescription opioids for illegal purposes. Due to their capacity to influence several businesses and stakeholders, including patients and physicians, to increase sales, pharmaceutical corporations like Purdue Pharma have a strong stake in this issue. These two parties are competing forces with various interests (Lawrence, 2020, p.442). Medication firms are attempting to increase the use of opioids. At the same time, the government works to safeguard the public from deceptive rules and misuse, despite the dangers the drug brings to society’s health.
Corporate conduct benefits healthcare providers, including physicians and pharmaceutical businesses. The opiate trade, in this instance, generates enormous riches. As a result, pharmaceutical firms like Purdue Pharma create novel formulations of their produced opioids and market them to patients and physicians to boost sales. Distributors are ready to include regulatory requirements such as failing to put in place sufficient safeguards to prevent drug abuse for its intended uses, providing opioids in nations with high drug overdose rates without informing the federal DEA of usage, and other similar violations (Lawrence, 2020, p.446). Conversely, dishonest medical professionals and pain management centers prescribed or distributed opioids improperly for non-medical uses. For instance, American Pain, one of the most well-known clinics providing oxycodone, was created in 2008 by a young felon. Young physicians with large student loan debt, unemployed graduates, and retired doctors eager to make additional money were among the medical professionals participating in the commercial agreement. Pharmaceutical firms and dishonest medical practitioners stand to gain financially from the unlawful prescription and sale of opioids. They’ll thus probably band together to promote these medications and deceive the public about the advantages and disadvantages of prescribing them. This tactic can potentially significantly increase the number of consumers who purchase lethal medications.
All persons influencing a company’s earnings or losses are considered stakeholders in economic power. Patients, staff, doctors, and drug distributors in this situation have tremendous financial influence over pharmaceutical corporations like Purdue Pharma, either through the use of opioids or by promoting increased sales (CBS). Unreliable medical experts heavily pushed the abuse of opiates for illegal purposes. For instance, they created prescriptions that gave false information about the advantages and hazards of prescription medicine and represented it as a potent painkiller with hardly any negative side effects. Again, by prescribing painkillers to receive coupons, they may transfer patients to Purdue Pharma. These illicit operations have been carried out by unemployed medical graduates, retired physicians, and young physicians with substantial student loan debt to supplement their income. Overdose fatalities became more frequent as prescription opioids grew (Lawrence, 2020, p.446). Personnel in pharmaceutical firms are not an exception. For instance, salespeople from Purdue Pharma increased the usage of opioids while downplaying the risk of addiction. They asserted that the danger of addiction from OxyContin was less than 1%. The widespread distribution of opioids, disinformation, wrong prescriptions from various interest groups, and other reasons have contributed to the pharmaceutical industry’s success. The widespread use of opioids in corporations, despite their detrimental effects on public health, has been driven by this phenomenon.
Stakeholders with access to compelling data, facts, or other pertinent information include persons or groups. They can draw the public’s or decision-makers attention using facts or viewpoints. In this scenario, workers in the healthcare sector and representatives from pharmaceutical firms are significant information power stakeholders. Medical professionals, including dishonest physicians, have significantly influenced the rising usage of opioids. They penned prescriptions with false information on the hazards and advantages of the medicine, persuading many unknowing patients to take it (Lawrence, 2020, p.442). Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical businesses have implemented several marketing strategies to increase sales. For instance, they collaborated with professional organizations to spread the message that pain is a common occurrence that is often underappreciated and that opioids like OxyContin may be used to treat it. The business added additional salespeople who minimized the dangers of drug addiction, stating they were insignificant. The case does demonstrate the success of Purdue Pharma’s marketing initiative to boost OxyContin sales. The business generated enormous revenues because it reached a larger audience (Lawrence, 2020, p.447). As a result of increased public attention, information from various information-powerful parties, including duplicitous doctors and pharmaceutical corporations, changed corporate behavior by encouraging widespread opioid usage despite the danger of addiction, overdose, and death.
Voting power is the ability to vote legally on behalf of the stakeholder. Voting rights are granted to employees and the public since these groups have a big say in business decisions. An organization that advocates for the use of opioids have Purdue Pharma sales agents among its members. They, therefore, possessed the informational authority to affect customer choices (Lawrence, 2020, p.446). As an illustration, they minimized the danger of opioid addiction as a marketing ploy to draw in a wider drug market. One of the company’s key stakeholders is the patient. They made decisions on whether to accept the prescriptions using information they obtained from numerous information groups and a larger voting power. In this instance, voting stakeholders affected corporations’ actions by requesting more opioid medications to treat chronic pain. Many continued to take the dosages despite multiple education campaigns about the hazards, which resulted in addictions and other negative health effects. Pharmaceutical businesses could sway a sizable audience and decision-making by employing marketing methods. Companies gained enormous profits by peddling dangerous goods to unsuspecting customers, despite the goal being to deceive and trick.
The firm may be legally subject to the will of stakeholders. For instance, unjust business activities like discrimination and selling dangerous products may give rise to legal action from clients or workers. For instance, it is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration to guarantee the efficacy, safety, and compliance of medications. OxyContin’s FDA clearance increased medication consumption. Companies like McKesson were penalized by the U.S. Department of Justice for breaking the Controlled Substances Act (Lawrence, 2020, p.445). The accusations arose from the company’s inability to implement adequate safeguards to stop the abuse of prescribed opioids for illegal purposes. Once more, the business neglected to alert the appropriate authorities to a circumstance that posed a significant risk to users’ health. The private pharmaceutical business Purdue Pharma was accused of mislabeling opioids to confuse and cheat in 2007, according to the federal executive branch (Lawrence, 2020, p.451). The case demonstrates that at least 25 government agencies have filed lawsuits against drug manufacturers, retailers, and distributors for various legal transgressions, including infringements on consumer protection rights, unjust enrichment, carelessness, and public nuisance. The government and regulatory bodies play a crucial role in altering the behavior of businesses by forbidding unlawful acts to earn profits without regard for the public interest. This is done by pursuing legal action against non-compliance. To prevent litigation and the harsh repercussions that come with it, such as penalties or the termination of corporate operations, companies should work to comply with legislation.
Ethics Analysis
According to the utilitarian principle, a deed is morally justified if it results in the greatest happiness for most people. Based on the Purdue Pharma Oxycontin Scandal, it is obvious that the firm continued to market and distribute the same medications even after knowing that they were harming more people than they were helping for profit and pleasure. This implies that they were unconcerned about the harm they brought to others. CEOs have acted unethically by doing this, which is against morality (Lawrence, 2020, p.443). The business’s marketing strategy included fraudulent, harmful, and deceptive marketing techniques that contributed to a sharp rise in drug usage, addiction, and overdose deaths. Purdue and its sales personnel contacted physicians and other healthcare providers to persuade physicians to keep prescribing OxyContin.
Because of the dangerous side effects on one’s health and the fact that they are highly addictive and lethal, many doctors have been hesitant to prescribe opioids. However, Purdue Pharma could deceive doctors into believing the medicine was not dangerous by saying that because one dose lasted 12 hours instead of 8 hours, it could be used less often without being fatal. The manufacturer also asserted that it had implemented a system to lessen the negative effects of addictive chemicals like oxycodone. As a result, the medicine is risk-free, and doctors may prescribe it confidently. Purdue sponsored several pain management campaigns, seminars, and training sessions to promote their medication as an efficient pain reliever to persuade doctors even more that it was a fraud (Lawrence, 2020, p.443). The utilitarian school of thought holds that lying is morally permissible if the results maximize the utility of the greater population while attempting to avoid harm. Therefore, lying is not always bad; in this instance, Purdue Pharma lied in its branding techniques to increase profits and cover up the harm done to the population’s stronger members.
Role of the Government
The federal, state and local governments have distinct authority in this situation. The federal government’s involvement in the public health care system is crucial. As a result, they take part in practically all medical procedures. Making rules and regulations and ensuring that healthcare institutions follow set norms and standards are a few of its policy, legal, and informational capabilities. The regulatory and general taxing powers are two devolved authorities that this level of government uses to accomplish its goals. For instance, the U.S. Department of Justice is the federal executive organization in charge of maintaining the law and delivering justice. A government organization that guards against risks to human health is the CDC. It has aided in raising awareness of the dangers of opioids by offering useful health information. Opioids were deemed the greatest drug overdose in U.S. history by the organization (Lawrence, 2020, p.447). The Food and Drug Administration examines drugs to ensure their efficacy and safety. The federal DEA has set an annual production cap for banned drugs to prevent unwarranted misuse. The regulatory body raised the total proportion to decrease oxycodone manufacturing when OxyContin was introduced.
Conclusion
The state government has the legal authority to regulate private hospitals, pharmacies, and medical personnel. Thus, modest state-level measures contributed significantly to the rise in opiate addiction. For instance, the American Pain Clinic, a for-profit facility for juvenile offenders, was one of the nation’s most infamous suppliers of oxycodone. The firm has been successful due to several variables, particularly in Florida. Due to state regulations allowing doctors to prescribe and sell pharmaceuticals, the likelihood of dishonest pharmacies has increased. In addition, the state did not assist clinics in acquiring a license. Once more, the clinic’s proprietor lacked any medical training or experience. The provision of community health initiatives and the control of drug standards fell within the central informational authority of the local government. She was, therefore, in charge of supporting numerous medical organizations to raise awareness of the dangers of opiates in society.
References
Lawrence, A. (2018). “Profiting from pain: Business and the U.S. opioid epidemic.” In Lawrence, A. & Weber, J. (2020). Business & Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, and Public Policy, 16th Ed. McGraw Hill, p. 442-452
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