Reference no: EM133804897

Question

The family of a 76-year-old woman is concerned that she has been taking too many pills for her "nerves." They report she used to just take an extra alprazolam about once every couple of weeks along with her daily dose of venlafaxine. However, she has recently been asking her family to transport her to urgent care and has been switching her physicians often, in contrast to her previous satisfaction with her longtime family physician. Her family has noticed her moods changing rapidly from upbeat to agitated. They also note that she seems sedated or "almost drunk" at times. She does not have any history of substance use. The woman will not let her family meet with the physicians or see her prescriptions. Her family has relayed all this information to the new nurse while the woman is being evaluated by the urgent care physician. The patient tells the physician that she has been in pain since her hip replacement about three months ago, and the pain medications are not helping. She reports that she has been using more alprazolam lately because the lack of pain relief makes her so anxious. After the nurse provides the physician with the family's input,