I agree but there would need to be major changes to the ACA.
I can think of about half a dozen things that could be OTC instead of prescription.
Hearing aids
Birth control
???
Some antibiotics
There is a prescription mouth wash my dentist has to order
800 MG motrin
And TBH, I thought morning after was prescription only, it can be purchased OTC.
FYI, glad you finally agree that birth control should be OTC.
Most mediations could be otc or at least prescribed by a pharmacist.
I may have been overzealous in claiming OTC, but I agree on a lower level of regulation.
Quick example.
About every five years I get an inflamed colon. 30 days of a certain antibiotic clears it up.
I could go to the pharmacist and request it and be done.
Whoa, too much information.
Speaking of OTC medication I remember a few years ago (maybe longer) some people complaining about certain prescription drugs becoming over the counter and it cost them more because insurance wasn’t paying.
I actually had my Dr. prescribe me zrtech, it costs about $10 OTC, but with my insurance it only costs me $1.
That may be one of the drugs I was thinking of, at the time the problem was once it was OTC insurance wouldn’t pay. I thought the example I heard was with insurance it was a $5 copay and OTC it was $30 or so. Things may have changed, I remember it was allergy and heartburn type medicines.
I mean technically what i suggested isn’t otc. It’s just the pharmacist agreeing you need it.
Right, kind of a lower level prescribe ability.
That makes sense.
If I could show documentation that it was needed, and not a controlled substance, the pharmacist could OK the script.
I am sure I am forgetting things, but this is something that legitimately could be hammered out in about 3 days if our Congress was functional.
Most cholesterol meds could be handed out by a pharmacist.
The doctors just reads the labs and then assigns a dose. The pharmacist could do the same thing.
Controlled scripts are different. You want to avoid abuse
Another great example.
100% agree.
A lot of ADHD meds are controlled substance for good reasons.
When I go to Latin America, I load up on all sorts of drugs that are cheaper and need no prescription statins, diabetes meds, and anti-hypertensives. I asked the pharmacist what requires a prescription down there. He said only psychotropic drugs.
Why could it not be like that here?
Our culture is different and so is our legal system. Patients would try to diagnose themselves on the internet. One with hypertension might Google what meds are available. He might just pick up one and start taking it. When it was not enough, instead of seeking advice and trying adding another to the regimen, he might just double and triple the dose of the first one.
He might overmedicate, pass out on the job, and fall to his death down an elevator shaft.
Of course, ninnies like that exist in Latin America. The difference here is an American ninny’s family might decide to sue the drug manufacturer. That almost never happens outside the US.
So just reform our tort system to loser pays, and maybe we can sell drugs without prescription.
You say “Let the pharmacist dispense.” This means the pharmacist must diagnose, which puts him in a whole new position, with much greater liability exposure.
A good example is a statin. The doctor just looks at the blood works then prescribed. An app could do that now days
Finding an effective combo that generates a perfect lipid profile without troublesome side effects is quite a task. I went through it several years ago. It might involve lowering blood glucose levels to get triglycerides down. You think an app could do this???
Yes.