Caveat Emptor
Three
years ago I edited a book entitled
Mosby’s Medical Surfari, a guide to exploring internet
and discovering top health care resources, and since that time the
health information resources on the internet have burgeoned. The
general public have become hungry for this information and the various
medias have responded. Along
the same lines, the pharmaceutical industries have responded to
people’s growing interest in health, especially as it relates to
self-treatment. There has
been a huge trend in the pharmaceutical industry switching from
prescription medications to over-the-counter (OTC) products. In fact, there are now more than 100,000 OTC products that
were once available only by prescription and more than 600 OTC
products that were formerly available only by prescription.
Ever since a pivotal meeting of major pharmaceutical suppliers in
Geneva, Switzerland (approximately ten years ago to avoid United
States anti-trust violations) the pharmaceutical industry has
conspicuously directed some of their advertising and marketing effort
directly to the consumer. Likewise,
many of these companies and others have offered on-line prescription
and OTC medication services. Although these changes in the
availability of pharmaceuticals have had some very positive effects
some very serious health problems have ensued resulting from this easy
accessibility to pharmaceuticals.
About 4 billion health problems are treated annually and a little more
than half of those are treated with one or more OTC medications. Americans are four times more likely to purchase OTC
medications than to consult their physician or nurse practitioner.
The most common conditions that have been treated with OTC
medications are muscle and joint pain, upset stomach, headache, cold
symptoms, menstrual symptoms and skin problems.
Acute conditions are more likely treated with OTC medication
than chronic conditions. This
accessibility has lead to some risks for patients who are not as
attentive the indications and contraindications for these various
medications. In other
words, some of the medications should not be used with other OTC
medications or prescription medications.
To further complicate this there is a huge herbal product
industry (nearly four billion dollars per year), that is minimally
regulated by the FDA, selling “botanicals”, “nutriceuticals”
and “dietary
supplements”. Many of
these preparations may interact with prescription or OTC medication
causing drug interactions that are undesired and some of these may
render other medications less effective.
Unfortunately there are a litany of unscrupulous pharmacy sources that
require nothing more than a request for medication and payment before
it is provided. Some of
them have you to fill out a “questionnaire”.
We have all seen the ads in the classified section of
newspapers and magazines for Viagra and Rogaine etc.
There are other disreputable sites that offer a “private
on-line consultation with a clinician” who then writes the
prescription rather than requiring a prescription from the patient’s
personal practitioner.
Everyone cannot get a medical education to judge all of these
medications and herbal supplements to determine whether or not they
can be taken safely with prescription medications.
However, people who choose self-treatments need to know there
are resources available to help them sort out these types of issues
and your family practitioner or local pharmacist are excellent
resources to help you make these choice. And, the FDA has a web site
devoted to consumer issues about buying prescription drugs on-line. It
lists some of the international web sites that are prohibited from
sending prescription medications to this country. If you are in doubt about an on-line pharmacy source, do
business with those that are certified by the National Association of
Boards of pharmacies, (NABP).
WORLD WIDE WEB RESOURCES
www.fda.gov/oc/buyonline/default.htm
This
web site provided by the FDA is devoted to issues about buying
prescription drugs online.
www.drugfacts.com
This
web site provides a fact and comparison guide to popular natural
products as well as prescription drugs.
www.quackwatch.com
This
web site is designed to educate the public about health related
frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies.
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