Methamphetamine Accidents Fill U.S. Hospitals With Uninsured Patients, Strain Burn Units
Jan 23, 2012
A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug. It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment—a burden so costly that it's contributing to the closure of some burn units. So-called “shake-and-bake” or “one-pot” meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a two-liter soda bottle. If the person mixing the concoction makes the slightest error, the bottle can explode, searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness, or even death. "You're holding a flame-thrower in your hands," said Jason Grellner of the Franklin County, Mo., Sheriff's Department.
An Associated Press survey of key hospitals in the nation's most active meth states showed that up to a third of patients in some burn units were hurt while making meth, and most were uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per day and the average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000—60% more than other burn patients. Burn experts agree the annual cost to taxpayers is well into the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. At least seven burn units across the nation have shut down over the past six years, partly due to consolidation but also because of the cost of treating uninsured patients, many of whom are connected to methamphetamine.
For more information on topics discussed in this story, please visit the following Get Smart About Drugs pages: Methamphetamine page, Meth 101 Presentation page, and Health Consequences page.
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Source
Huffington Post