At this time, several types of drugs are circulating and are being legally distributed through different channels. These drugs are not the type of drugs that are usually deemed to be illegal or harmful to the body. They don't include meth, ecstacy or the like. However, although they have been accepted by society, it cannot be dismissed that they are still "drugs" and may cause to a normal person one way or the other. Such drugs include the normal products that we usually consume such as coffee and tea.
Even in the health area, a lot of medications and products are being distributed. For example, there are different drugs that are available to order online such as HCG, Vitamin B12 injections and other dietary supplements that are said to promote weight loss. But what the normal person doesn't know is that these contain several chemical elements that have harmful effects to the body. There are other "legal" drugs that are openly sold in the market which the consumers can easily buy without proper advice from a doctor or a pharmacist.
Examples of drugs that are being sold legally that can bring more harm than good are Mirapex, which can cause "hallucinations, increased gambling, sexual or other overpowering urges" Another dangerous legal drug is called Bilify, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but can lead to comatose or even death (Poken, 2009). There are more legal drugs that can cause various side effects including birth control pills that cause dangerous liver tumors and asthma treatments, which ironically, can cause death.
Because of the dangers brought about by over the counter medicine that doesn't usually have prescriptions, the question of safety surfaces. Right now, there is a need for pharmacists to have more authority when it comes to regulating the drugs that are sold out in the market. In the state of Florida, for example, a law has been passed that allows that gives local pharmacists to authority to prescribe prescription drugs. Several states are expected to follow suit. When other states will also allow pharmacists to prescribe independently, it is expected that the percentage of drug purchasing decisions without the pharmacists’ influence will drop from 77% to 63% (PPRLOG, 2012). Pharmacist is also allowed by several Federal agencies to independently prescribe medications from an approved list and under regulated conditions in this state. Pharmacists believe that they can provide “improved patient-care, free-up physicians for more pressing health visits, and provide substantial savings to the healthcare industry” (PPRLOG, 2012).
In Canada, several provinces have given pharmacists added authority to allow them to do medication prescriptions. Alberta led the way in giving pharmacists this authority. It is believed that, it becomes a barrier for people to adhere to their continuous medications if they have to come back to their doctors every time they need to buy their medications. Allowing pharmacists to renew the prescriptions or prescribe new drugs appropriate for them would give the patient a favor and decrease the burden for the physicians (Law, 2010).
In the British Columbia, specific limitations are made for pharmacists to prescribed drugs. They are allowed to modify doses, schedule, or formulation of the drug but not for drugs that are for cancer, asthma, heart related and psychiatric treatment. They can also prescribe therapeutic substations for certain “histamine 2 receptor blockers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, nitrates, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and proton pump inhibitors” (Law, 2010).. They are not allowed to renew prescriptions for narcotics and psychiatric medications. When they renew medications, they are required to inform the physician who originally issued the prescription within 24 hours after issuing the prescription. Charges can be made when these pharmacists does not adhere with the requirements of the law.
Pharmacists should be in control of the medicines that are brought out into the market because they are the ones who know the dangers behind those drugs. They have undergone professional training of the possible effects, interactions and the proper use of the medicines. However, even if they are highly trained, they are not called for when the need to prescribe appropriate drugs arises. Most people rely on doctors for their prescriptions.
Glen Pearson, a prescribing pharmacists insists that the “education of pharmacists (a minimum of five years of university) prepares them well for assuming more responsibility for prescribing medications”. He further that since health care providers are required to “maximize their skills and full scope of practice” pharmacists should be given authority to prescribe drugs. He states that to be able to achieve maximum health care delivery, physicians should be the one responsible for diagnosing the condition of the patient and the decision to medically treat the patients. Pharmacists should be the one responsible to prescribing a drug therapy that is appropriate for the patient’s condition. According to him, “the specific goals of pharmacist prescribing include: improving patient access to drug therapy and optimizing patient outcomes; reducing the redundancy and interruptions in drug therapy which are common in our current model of health care service delivery; and increasing collaboration and synergy among pharmacists, physicians, and other health care professionals for an improved service delivery model” (MentalWellnessToday, 2012).
Jennifer Hood, an industry spokesperson says that pharmacists can be your first-aider if doctors are not available. The pharmacists’ educational background has given them the capacity to do the prescription. Although they cannot do the diagnosis, they can help a patient with medication issues. They can do the prescription provided, they have to inform the attending doctor (MentalWellnessToday, 2012).
Heather Piccott, a pharmacist-in-training argues that pharmacists undergo a lot of training, not just related to pharmaceutical drugs but also on the how the body works and reacts to certain drugs. She says, although they cannot replace doctors, “continuing care prescription” can be administered by them. By doing this, strain in the health care system could be reduced and lightens the load of doctors. She furthers that the government should “let each professional use their individual expertise, while at the same time communicating with each other to ensure the best care possible” (MentalWellnessToday, 2012).
Although, theoretically, pharmacists are the ones trained to do drug prescriptions, there are many issues that comes from letting them fully prescribe drugs. They must be allowed to prescribed drugs but this capacity should come with full responsibility. Allowing this is prone to abuse of their ability to do so especially for controlled drugs. The government must make sure that they follow the rules and regulations with regards to the issuance of such kinds of drugs.
One of the issues that surfaces when it comes to regulating drugs is that most of the "drugs" that are openly sold in the markets do not meet certain health standards. Most of the time, they are categorized as food items or dietary supplements that people and authorities do not necessarily question them. In dietary supplements, the caption always says "no proven therapeutic claims".
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 outlines the responsibilities of a prescriber. One such responsibility includes preventing patients to receive prescriptions that will make them dependent on the prescribed drug and preventing drug abuse patients to gain access to prescription drugs. The prescriber must always take into consideration before prescribing if that specific drug is really needed by the patient for recuperation or can be avoided. Prescriber must also monitor the usage of the patient to ensure that the patient is not gradually increasing his dosage intake until such time that he becomes dependent on it. A prescription must be clearly stated and should include the full name and address of the patient.
Allowing pharmacists to prescribed drugs comes with advantages and disadvantages. There is no question as to whether they are trained of not to do so, because with 5 years studies, one can say that they are fully trained. Before giving them the go signal to do so, the limitations of their capacity to prescribed must be fully outlined and the possible consequences to keep them from abusing their responsibility.
References
Bollan, Will and Simcon Chantal. (2012, January 28). Controlled Drugs: Regulation and Prescribing. Retrieved from http://rcgp-innovait.oxfordjournals.org/content/1/2/163.full
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2012, January 26). What FDA Regulates. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/WhatFDARegulates/default.htm
Law, Michael R. (2010). Effects of Prescription Adaptation by Pharmacists. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/10/313#abs
Mental Wellness Today. (2012, January 27). Points of View: Should Pharmacists Allowed to Prescribe?. Retrieved from http://www.mentalwellnesstoday.com/DesktopModules/DigArticle/Print.aspx?PortalId=0&ModuleId=850&Article=115
Nordenberg, Tamar. (2012, January 27).Why Should FDA Regulate Drugs. In Questia. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5002246316
Popken, Ben. (2009). 9 Legal Drugs with Extremely Disturbing Side Effects. Retrieved from http://consumerist.com/2009/04/9-legal-drugs-with-extremely-disturbing-side-effects.html
PRLOG. (2012, January 28). Florida Leads the Way in Giving Pharmacists Authority to Prescribe Prescription Drugs. Retrieved from http://www.prlog.org/10036887-florida-leads-the-way-in-giving-pharmacists-authority-to-prescribe-prescription-drugs.html
