Gourt > Society > Issues > Health > Health Policy > Prescription Drugs
A prescription drug (or POM Prescription Only Medicine, in UK) is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over the counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug. As a general rule, over the counter drugs are used to treat conditions not necessarily requiring a doctor's care and will have been proven to meet higher safety standards for self-medication by patients. Often a lower dosage of a drug will be approved for OTC use, while higher dosages will remain the province of a doctor's prescription; a notable case is ibuprofen, which has been widely available as an OTC pain killer since the mid-1980s but is still available in doses up to four times the OTC dose for use in cases of severe orthopedic pain.
Regulation in United States
In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines what requires a prescription. Prescription drugs are generally authorized by doctors, though nurse practitioners do an increasing amount of drug prescribing. It is generally required that a physician or a nurse practitioner write the prescription; nurses (other than nurse practitioners), emergency medical technicians, psychologists (but not psychiatrists, who are MDs), as examples, do not generally have the authority to prescribe drugs. Unlike many other countries, the United States does not have price controls for prescription drugs, and US drug prices are often perceived as inflated in comparison to other countries; therefore, most health insurance programs (generally partially or in full paid for by the patient's employer) have prescription payment plans where the patient pays only a small copayment and the pharmacy is reimbursed for the rest of the cost by the insurance company.
Regulation in United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a patient visits a doctor (usually a general practitioner in the first instance) who is able to prescribe medicines. If given an NHS prescription, this can be taken to a pharmacy to be dispensed. District nurses and health visitors have had limited prescribing rights since the mid-nineties where prescription for dressings and simple medicines would have had to have been signed by a doctor. Extended prescribing was introduced in late 1999, where appropriately trained nurses could prescribe from a limited list of POMs. From 2006, some nurses and pharmacists will be permitted to prescribe all medicines in the British National Formulary, except controlled drugs directly. Each item on the prescription is liable to a prescription charge of £6.65 (as of April 2006), although many patients are exempt from this charge. This includes those over 60, under 16, patients with certain medical conditions and those on certain benefits. More on [ Prescription drug ]
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Beeville â Police: Man used fake prescription to get drugs http://tinyurl.com/ykob4h7
mysoutex (mySouTex) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:21:03 -0000
Beeville – Police: Man used fake prescription to get drugs http://tinyurl.com/ykob4h7
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens (newswise.com): http://bit.ly/MjlmL
PartnerUpAZ (PartnerUpAZ) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:06:07 -0000
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens (newswise.com): http://bit.ly/MjlmL
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens: New Resources Equip Parent.. http://twurl.nl/pfzo22
bhcjournal (Behavioral Health) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:03:12 -0000
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens: New Resources Equip Parent.. http://twurl.nl/pfzo22
RT @toxicsoup Don't pour prescription drugs down drain/toilet... http://tinyurl.com/yjh366w via @CleanRiverTips @Lake_Champlain
femmekatz (Kathe Garbrick) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:01:51 -0000
RT @toxicsoup Don't pour prescription drugs down drain/toilet... http://tinyurl.com/yjh366w via @CleanRiverTips @Lake_Champlain
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens: New Resources Equip Parent.. http://twurl.nl/5ewfdr
bhcjournal (Behavioral Health) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:01:47 -0000
Campaign Launches to Sound Alarm about the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Among Teens: New Resources Equip Parent.. http://twurl.nl/5ewfdr
Don't pour prescription drugs down drain/toilet- they end up in our water... http://tinyurl.com/yjh366w via @CleanRiverTips @Lake_Champlain
toxicsoup (Toxic Soup) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:00:33 -0000
Don't pour prescription drugs down drain/toilet- they end up in our water... http://tinyurl.com/yjh366w via @CleanRiverTips @Lake_Champlain
Almanac of Policy Issues: Prescription Drugs - Links and background information about U.S. public policy affecting prescription drugs and prescription drug coverage.
Canada Drug Talk - Provides facts, tips and news about importing prescription drugs from Canada.
Meta Description: [ Straight Talk about Importing Prescription Drugs from Canada ]
Canadian Prescription Drug Savings Calculator - Allows consumers to gauge savings on nearly 50 of the most popular prescription medications by picking multiple drugs, different dosage settings and time horizons ranging from one month to 20 years.
Meta Description: [ Allows consumers to gauge savings on nearly 50 of the most popular prescription medications by picking multiple drugs, different dosage settings and time horizons ranging from one month to 20 years. ]
Drugging Our Children The Legal Way - An article about a federal judge that struck down a Food and Drug Administration regulation that required drug makers to test medicines routinely given to children. Arianna Huffington, Alternet.
Gary W. Lawson, Ph.D., DPA - Calling for reform of the FDA.
Meta Description: [ Impact study of FDA accepting funding from drug industry. ]
Health Action International - A non-profit organization that represents the interests of consumers in drug policy and believes that all drugs marketed should be acceptably safe, effective, affordable and meet real medical needs.
No Free Lunch - Discusses pharmaceutical industry marketing, promotion, and sales practices and how they may adversely affect prescription drug prescribing practices, and increase prescription drug prices.
Pharmopoly - Free-market campaign for safe, free and fair trade in pharmaceuticals across borders.
Meta Description: [ Online discounted pharmacy products ]
Poison For Profit - An article from Red Flags Weekly that suggests pharmaceutical and chemical companies profit from the sale of herbicides, pesticides, and household chemicals as well as the prescription drugs often needed to treat health problems caused by these household and industrial chemicals.
Meta Description: [ Red Flags Weekly Storm Warnings Page ]
Prescription Access Litigation Project - National coalition of consumer groups fighting against illegal drug industry price manipulation deceptive marketing.
Meta Description: [ Community Catalyst provides health care policy tools, analysis, and strategies for consumer health activists working to influence the health care system and promote health care justice. ]
Pushing for easier prescriptions - Article describing the push for easier, cheaper cross-border Canadian-American prescriptions.
Re-importation of Prescription Drugs From Canada - News media articles concerning the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada.
Meta Description: [ Read daily news articles at Americaputmeoutofbusiness.com with up to date drug re-importation details, political elected officials stands on the importation of prescription medication and what George Bush is doing on this and other healthcare issues facing Americans today. We are the health CNN o... ]
The Cost of Protectionism in Pharmaceuticals - An article from Alternet that examines the effects of the patent system in the pharmaceutical industry and suggests that increased public funding of pharmaceutical research and development could dramatically lower costs for consumers.
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