Prescription Drugs, Without The Doctor?

Congress Could Create A New Class Of "Behind-The-Counter" Drugs

(CBS)  Call it cutting out the middleman - except the middleman is your doctor.

The idea: allow some prescription drugs to be sold without a prescription, provided pharmacists like Cheri Garvin, the CEO of Leesburg Pharmacy, who CBS News transportation and consumer safety correspondent Nancy Cordes spoke with, perform a quick consultation.

"I would say it's medications that are fairly safe," Garvin said. "They have a good safety profile, but could be more effective and safer if there is an interaction with a pharmacist."

The idea is in such early stages the FDA hasn't even said which drugs would fall into this new category.

At today's public meeting, witnesses focused on vaccines and cholesterol-lowering statins.

And though behind-the-counter drugs exist in Europe, some doctors here are skeptical.

"Pharmacists simply do not have the necessary education and training to perform these clinical functions," said Joseph Cranston of the American Medical Association.

Consumer Advocate Dr. Sidney Wolfe says the only U.S. study of countries that do allow "behind-the-counter" drugs found pharmacists didn't always provide comprehensive advice.

"We need much more evidence from places that have had this program for a long time before embarking on it in the United States," Wolfe said.

But pharmacists in Britain say the system saves time.

"It's easier for the patient if they run out of their medicine," U.K. pharmacist Thamer Auf said.

And Garvin argues it's just an extension of what she's doing already.

Still there are many unanswered questions. Would "behind-the-counter" drugs be covered by insurance? Would pharmacists get paid more?

Most importantly, does Congress even want to bother creating an entirely new class of drugs?

[eggy1620]

Baileycc, herbals & supplements differ from meds only through the fact that naturals are NOT MEASURED.

[cogger2]

Jusdane, haven%u2019t you read any news in the past 50 years: The Congress isn%u2019t in bed with the Pharmaceutical companies; they%u2019re in bed with the AMA. The AMA doesn%u2019t have to compete with itself.... Also, NO country can %u201Cactually "Cure" ailments without drugs ". Not even China.. All countries have alternative medicines, including the U.S... Pharmacies are going to get the same money if you buy the medicine straight out or if you hand over a doctor%u2019s note first and then buy the medicine. It%u2019s just that the doctor got his cut of your money first, and it was a huge cut, and it was preceded by hearing the exact same diagnosis you%u2019d heard 30 times before. The exact same speech you%u2019ll have to hear countless times in the future because Congress and the AMA are in bed together.

[jusdane]

Big Government at it''s best. It''s criminal that Congress is in bed with the Pharmaceutical companies making it easier to get drugs (making them more money) while poisoning those who take them. No side effects are safe, the Pharm companies and the FDA know it, but only want us more sick so they can make more money. Why is it other countries actually "Cure" ailments without drugs" Because they''re interested in curing, not making money on the drugs.

[lindaledbett]

Interesting. I live in Costa Rica where any adult can buy almost any drug at a pharmacy without a prescription. Some drugs are, of course, restricted but most are not. In the U.S., I always resented not being allowed to make these decisions for myself and those doctor visits really add to the cost. I can read. I can search for information about drugs. It should be my choice.

[doggone23]

People tend to forget that the cost of prescription medicine isn''t just the $40-$50 that the pharmacist charges. It also includes the $200-$400 that the redundant visit to a doctor costs. After the first doctor''s visit, or two, a person who has had a tendency to get an annoying sinus headache every-so-often, for the last 40 years, learned long ago what medicine is needed. The requirement for REPEATED visits to the doctor is just to put more and more and more money into the doctor''s pocket.
Concerning BTC: is the US really right and the whole rest of the world wrong.? What the rest of the world has learned is that a patient doesn%u2019t need to hear the same diagnosis over-and-over-and-over-and-over again. What the rest of the world has learned is to simply have a person go get the medicine he already knows he needs.
Every single person opposed to the BTC proposal has an insurance policy that pays for any and all superfluous costs. Let all these Prima Donnas go without insurance for a year or two and they''d quickly realize how dumb our present U.S. medical system is. They%u2019d learn the hard way how much unnecessary expensive slop and fat there is in our medical system. The rest of the world isn%u2019t wrong; they just got their act together..!!

[tucano2]

More Mexicanization of America. Who wants that?

[victjuli]

You must be a pharmacy tech, you''re generalizations are worse than mine. Here in the real world, docs are more up to date on meds, pharmacists are rarely consulted in the hospital, are often travelers from another country. Docs know more about side effects and contraindications. Pharmacist''s usually only call when they can''t read my writing, or I''m writing for something they''re not used to pouring in the bottle.

[drivelphobe]

victjuli.....

Pharmacists are frequently contacted by worried, ignorant physicians as to specifics of medications to use when they need to prescribe for any condition that isn''t in their auto-pilot Rx guide.

They have little time, and even less interest, in keeping up-to-date on pharmaceuticals. Many rely on Pharmaceutical representatives for their current info.

To compare a grocery store clerk with a pharmacist is a vivid clue to one''s low IQ. All quality hospitals have a pharmacist on staff to work with physicians regarding patient treatment in the hospital. Perhaps we should rely on the television ads for our pharmaceutical expertise.

[victjuli]

Natural products are snake oil. Sold for profit, they do not help anything.
Nobody wants to hear, everything in moderation. A good diet and exercise. That''s the best you can do. We''re all going to die anyway.

The more I think about this I wonder "Who will stop the Insanity"? Drugs are not the answer, natural products are the answer. These poisons leads to an early death.

[victjuli]

Doctor''s don''t have the time to tell patients everything, but they are doing a lot of thinking when you see them, and when they write your prescription.

Most of the time patients don''t want to hear what the doc has to say.

Pharmacist''s don''t know any more about prescribing, than a super market checker knows how to cook.

[drivelphobe]

The AMA will make sure that any pharamceuticals purchased without a phycician''s prescription, will not be covered under medical insurance.

On the other hand, pharmacists are far more qualified to select the correct medicine for a condition, know more about any contra-indications, and potential adverse drug interactions. The patients will be safer if pharmacists actually prescribe the medications.

Physicians are losing their credibility these days with their insistence on annual physicals, preventive testing, and mandatory appointments to simply review blood test results. If they are so busy that one has to wait for hours to see them, then why don''t they make better use of their time than to force everyone to their office to sit and wait for a two-minute visit.

Medical practice, unfortunately, is all about money and little about patient care. If doctors think it''s tough now, just wait until their day comes.

[slim1h2o]

And though behind-the-counter drugs exist in Europe, some doctors here are skeptical.

Of course, they''re skeptical! They''re going to lose patients, how many times have people ran out of their meds, and called the doctor, to get a refill. Only to be told to come in for a needless consultation. So you end up paying for a doctors visit and the cost of the meds.

These doctors are nothing but a bunch of scammers.

[mjpage]

"...the only U.S. study of countries that do allow "behind-the-counter" drugs found pharmacists didn''t always provide comprehensive advice."

Ha! My doctors NEVER "provide comprehensive advice" about the meds they prescribe to me. I usually learn more about the drugs on the internet, because my doctor didn''t give me enough info & I didn''t even know what to ask to get the info. Often I learn things my doctors didn''t even know about the meds, just from scouring the internet, and my doctors end up surprised or emabarassed at their own lack of knowledge. Sad but absolutely true.

[cfin5]

I just read one of the best current articles on "Big Pharma" that is just unbelievable from the Constitution Party''s website (constitutionparty.com), click the "FREE TRADE: CHEAP LABOR AND EXPENSIVE RECALLS" story regarding the FDA aka FEDERAL DEATH ADMINISTRATION (I say Federal Dope Administration too). Waaaaaay better than this article folks!

[drinuk]

Doctors will undoubtedly be the cash losers because of this policy but who cares. Over the last five decades they have sucked up to Big Pharma knowing full well that their oath protects them. Only a handful have spoken out with regard to MMR and all the other junk they have been peddling. Whilst their hands have been tied to an extent, there are many who, contrary to their knowledge and belief, have pushed junk for cash.

This new policy will now have Big Pharma climbing all over Pharmacist and especially the likes of Walmart, they too will be compromised but wealthier for their collusion.

This nation is NOT Free, the most important factor in our lives is our personal health and that is being manipulated by Big Pharma in collusion with the majority of politicians and our regulatory authority the FDA. The relationships are incestuous and crooked to the detriment of all save Big Pharma and Washington who in the last year alone took back handers from Big Pharma to the tune of EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS. We are a SICK nation.

[grammawhamma]

Recently toddler and infant decongestants and cough medicine was recalled and taken off the shelves. Why??...because parents over dosed their kids (even though the dosing directions were very easy to understand). Do we really want to put more meds out there for people who can''t think? Today''s society over uses medications way too much. I think this is a bad idea.

[taxguydave]

You shouldn''t have to go to the doctor to get most maintenance medications once they''ve been prescribed. Insulin, for example, has never required a prescription. Why not other drugs?

Actually, the insurance companies would love this. Medco stopped covering my Prilosec as soon as it went over the counter.

[charles8220]

Q: What do you call the person who graduates last in their class from nursing school?

A: Nurse

The circle will be complete for Big Pharma if this actually takes place. They have created a pill popping society that thinks the answer is in drugs. Profit before health. Big Pharma has duplicate so many natural products with loads of side effects and then sells it at 50 fold prices of the natural substance. This madness needs to be stop and Congress which is in Big Pharma pocket is the only one that can do it. 50 years from now our posterity will look back at this over medicate age in sheer amazement. Statin Drugs would have been banned with countless other poisons being force on our society. Medical intervention is the No. 1 cause of death in our county. Theses are sad days indeed.