Although the pharmaceutical industry says that prescription medicines are as safe as they can possibly be, prescribed drugs have a high increase of risking a patient’s health. According to the law, drug makers seek Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for specific uses of their products and conduct trials to test their drugs safety and effectiveness in patients with specific conditions. The FDA demands that drug companies conduct rigorous clinical trials to prove a drugs safety and effectiveness in treating a particular disease. However, once the FDA approves a drug for one use, doctors can prescribe it for whatever they want. The FDA is considering loosening the monitoring of off-label prescriptions, but if anything, regulations should be tightened. Despite the practices of some medical personnel, the risk of serious medical complications demands that the FDA regulate and restrict off-label use of prescription drugs.
The off-label use of any approved drug relates to the use not included in the official label. The exclusion of uses for a specific disease or disorder from the official label proves that drug creators have not submitted the needed evidence, required by law to allow admittance, to the Food and Drug Administration. When this occurs, the statement, “safety and efficacy in pediatric patients have not been established” is printed in the product label. Randall Stafford M.D. writes, “Although off-label prescribing, the prescription of a medication in a manner different from that approved by the FDA is legal and common, it is often done in the absence of adequate supporting data. Off-label uses have not been formally evaluated, and evidence provided for one clinical situation may not apply to others” (Sta...
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http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0802107
Louise C. Cope et al, investigated the impact of non-medical prescribing. Non-medical prescribing could be evaluated through the NMP, or other health practitioner such as GP, and patients. Currently there is limited information on how NMP has impacted other professions, such as radiographer, optometrists and physiotherapists. Personally, I think this is due to how recent these professions gained the right to prescribe. Most of the findings have been extremely positive, with limited disadvantages. Within this evaluation of NMP “students who are becoming NMPs felt that the programme provided them with adequate knowledge to prescribe with some stating that the period of learning in practice was ‘the most valuable part of the course’”
Dr. John Abramson’s book Overdosed America debunks the myths about the excellence of American medicine. Abramson backs up this claim by closely examining research about medicine, closely examining the unpublished details submitted by drug manufacturers to the FDA, and discovering that the unpublished data does not coincide with the claims made about the safety and effectiveness of commonly used medicines. Abramsons purpose is to point out the flaws of the pharmaceutical industry in order to warn the readers about the credibility of the drugs they are buying. Given the critical yet technical language of the book, Abramson is writing to an audience that may include academic physicians as well as those who want to learn about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry.
...gs must be within the medical specifications and without proper analysis; the consumers may be subjected to dangerous components within a drug.
In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States misleads both the public and medical professionals by participating in acts of both deceptive marketing practices and bribery, and therefore does not act within the best interests of the consumers. In America today, many people are in need of medical help. In fact,the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 75% of the population complain of physical problems (Federal Trade Commission 9). They complain, for example, of fatigue, colds, headaches, and countless other "ailments." When these symptoms strike, 65% purchase over-the-counter, or OTC, drugs.
was approved in 1982 and in another form, that is to be taken orally rather than
Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads are dangerous and can have serious effects on the health of the general public. In the article “Pros & Cons Arguments: ‘Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?’”, the pros and cons of the advertising of prescription drugs are compared. The negative aspects of these ads outweigh that of the positives. DTC prescription drug ads misinform patients, promote over-usage, and pressure medical providers. The counter side argues that these ads inform patients, create a positive impact on patient compliance with medication, and cause patients to confront their doctors.
Why do consumers purchase specific drugs for various ailments, sicknesses or diseases they might have? Why do physicians prescribe certain drugs over competitive drugs that may be available to the public? Why is it that most of us can easily name specific drugs that fit the many ailments of today’s society? On the surface the answer might be as simple as good TV advertising or radio commercials or even internet adds. The truth of matter is the major pharmaceutical manufacturers own the patents on these drugs and this gives them all of the marketing budget and muscle they need to promote the drug and control the pricing. The incentives for larger pharmaceutical companies are very enticing and as a result, they don’t mind spending the time in clinical trials and patent courts to get their drugs approved. Some will even get patents on the process by which the drug is manufactured, ensuring that no competitor can steal the drug or the process. This protects their large financial investment and nearly guarantees a large return for their investors. Many consumer rights groups claim this is nothing more than legalizing monopolies for the biggest manufacturers.
this drug as a "schedule I" drug that means that it has high potential for abuse.
...ve physical deformities, decreased birth weight and respiratory difficulties. The drugs can also carry adverse behavioral effects, including high pitched crying, abnormal sleep patterns and decreased attention. Studies have determined that some infants can rectify these behavioral inconsistencies, but that the change is dependent upon a responsive caregiver in a nurturing environment.
Patient consent is the law. Even though the test can provide unsatisfactory results they cannot anticipate the way the drugs will affect the present. This could lead to one patient favoring one treatment over another. The problem that comes from specific informed consent cannot be addressed solely by demanding more rigorous standard for research (Truog et al. 1999).
Wright, A., FebloWitz, J., Phansalkar, S., Liu, J., Wilcox, A., Keohane, C., … Bates, D. (2012). Preventability of adverse drug events involving multiple drugs using publicly available clinical decision support tools. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 69, 221-227.
both the benefit and risk of all medication before approval.. In addition, FDA makes the labeling
Many people throughout the world visit the United States every year to receive medical treatment. This is due to our excellent pharmaceutical industry as it spends million of dollars and many hours of research to come up with what we can only describe as “miracle” drugs and treatments. Part of the success of many of these medications is because the pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated by policies that protect the public from accessing drugs that have not been fully tested and found to be “safe”. However, this was not the case until the late 1990s and early 2000s. One time in history that highly influenced the strict regulations we currently have was the nationwide contamination of patients through blood transfusion or by consuming medications
The ability to become reflective in practice has become a necessary skill for health professionals. This is to ensure that health professionals are continuing with their daily learning and improving their practice. Reflective practice plays a big part in healthcare today and is becoming increasingly noticed.
The rate of death due to prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. According to the Congressional Quarterly Transcription’s article "Rep. Joe Pitt Holds a Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse," opioid prescription drugs were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2010, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of heroin and cocaine. Prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes "condemn a patient to lifelong addiction," according to Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This problem not only affects the lives of those who overdose but it affects the communities as well due to the convenience of being able to find these items in drug stores and such. Not to mention the fact that the doctors who prescribe these opioids often tend to misuse them as well. Abusing these prescribed drugs can “destroy dreams and abort great destinies," and end the possibility of the abuser to have a positive impact in the community.