Comments on: Behind-The-Counter Debate Moves Front And Center http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/ News, Comment and Conversation Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:32:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Kelly http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-29356 Kelly Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:04:10 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-29356 I've not heard much after the FDA meeting -- have you? I am trying to follow the BTC trend to see how it will impact regulations in the future. I’ve not heard much after the FDA meeting — have you? I am trying to follow the BTC trend to see how it will impact regulations in the future.

]]> By: Ron http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-25923 Ron Thu, 15 Nov 2007 01:38:55 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-25923 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 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 BHC: 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’t 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 BHC 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’d learn the hard way how much unnecessary expensive slop and fat there is in our medical system. The rest of the world isn’t wrong; they just got their act together..!! 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 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 BHC: 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’t 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 BHC 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’d learn the hard way how much unnecessary expensive slop and fat there is in our medical system. The rest of the world isn’t wrong; they just got their act together..!!

]]> By: Behind the Counter Drugs? « Every Patient’s Advocate http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-25629 Behind the Counter Drugs? « Every Patient’s Advocate Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:12:49 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-25629 [...] Learn more about the pros and cons and other’s opinions at Pharmalot. [...] [...] Learn more about the pros and cons and other’s opinions at Pharmalot. [...]

]]> By: GA http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-24661 GA Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:30:20 +0000 http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/10/behind-the-counter-debate-moves-front-and-center/#comment-24661 Dear Mr. Silverman, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post this week regarding behind-the-counter medications. The content was very well rounded and enriched with credible resources and opinions from both sides of the debate regarding the “so-called third category of drug”. Before I began reading your post, I was completely opposed to pharmacists prescribing drugs due to the lack of personal relationship and understanding of a patient’s past and present healthcare needs. I agreed with the American Medical Association that a “lack of proper medical oversight could pose safety risks for patients”. However, the statement from Jerry Harrington you site also brings up a valid point that the behind-the-counter system “adds value because it can provide a transition from prescription status to OTC [over-the-counter] status”. This is supported by Tom Greco’s quote, which states “there are a lot of drugs that are available only by prescription that for all intents and purposes really don’t need to be prescriptions”. Overall, I still have my hesitations of giving more authority to pharmacists to prescribe current prescription drugs, but I can understand the desire to create another category of drugs for those that are borderline prescription and over-the-counter medications. I do believe that the questions brought up by Sid Wolfe from the Health Research Group at Public Citizen are very valid and still need to be addressed before the FDA can implement a new class of drugs. Due to the fact that some pharmacists may not have a good understanding of their patients’ needs and we do not have access to universal electronic medical records yet, I hesitate to fully support behind-the-counter drugs due to the greater risk of medical error. Dear Mr. Silverman,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post this week regarding behind-the-counter medications. The content was very well rounded and enriched with credible resources and opinions from both sides of the debate regarding the “so-called third category of drug”. Before I began reading your post, I was completely opposed to pharmacists prescribing drugs due to the lack of personal relationship and understanding of a patient’s past and present healthcare needs. I agreed with the American Medical Association that a “lack of proper medical oversight could pose safety risks for patients”. However, the statement from Jerry Harrington you site also brings up a valid point that the behind-the-counter system “adds value because it can provide a transition from prescription status to OTC [over-the-counter] status”. This is supported by Tom Greco’s quote, which states “there are a lot of drugs that are available only by prescription that for all intents and purposes really don’t need to be prescriptions”. Overall, I still have my hesitations of giving more authority to pharmacists to prescribe current prescription drugs, but I can understand the desire to create another category of drugs for those that are borderline prescription and over-the-counter medications. I do believe that the questions brought up by Sid Wolfe from the Health Research Group at Public Citizen are very valid and still need to be addressed before the FDA can implement a new class of drugs. Due to the fact that some pharmacists may not have a good understanding of their patients’ needs and we do not have access to universal electronic medical records yet, I hesitate to fully support behind-the-counter drugs due to the greater risk of medical error.

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