The idea of this blog post came to me when I had to call a doctor to get my prescription refilled. I was able to refill my medication (face wash) only if I scheduled an appointment to see the doctor within the next few months. I started to wonder how many people make appointments simply to get medication. According to Health State Facts Organization in 2009 there were 3.6 billion prescriptions filled. Obviously, the older people are the more likely they are to have prescriptions. What is interesting though is woman have per capita have many more prescriptions then men (14.4 vs. 9.4). So let’s assume it took 1 second to write each prescription. This would equate to 3.6 billion seconds which is around 114 years. Obviously one second is very conservative since it takes time for the doctor to write the prescription, the pharmacist has to fill the prescription, we have to drive to pick up the prescription. Obviously this time imposes costs on the doctors, pharmacists, and consumers. So what if we lived in a world where we didn’t need a prescription in order to get medication? Also let’s assume we abolish the FDA. For instance, people would be able to get Lipitor, Nexium, and Plavix over the counter. People might think this is very dangerous and we shouldn’t leave people alone with medication. My argument would be if people really wanted to damage themselves there are far easier ways then prescription medicines.
Allowing prescription drugs to be over the counter would make consumers more informed about drugs and improve the quality of life. Of course, if prescription drugs could be bought over the counter but people already abuse drugs with prescriptions. Believe it or not nearly all the information regarding benefits and side effects for all drugs are published online. People could use this information to decide whether or not they believe a certain pill or treatment is right for them. Of course, if people were really unsure they could consult their physician. I don’t understand how anyone else except for me can estimate or guess with any precision my own risk/reward model. The benefits of a system like this would allow experimentation and would allow research to be conducted to see who would benefit most from certain drugs. If people with a unique illness or disease wanted to create their own trial groups to see what works or doesn’t work I am all for that. Less regulation would create more information for consumers.
In addition to this, the cost of drugs and treatments would decrease since it would be sold for over the counter. Companies like CVS and Walgreens would have to be competitive with each other. Of course, one caveat is that insurance companies would no longer cover drugs under plans since they would be sold over the counter.
Drug companies would also be forced to innovate more often since nearly every drug on the market would face competition. This would allow smaller companies to compete with major drug companies which would benefit consumers.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I believe we will have a biotech/genetic revolution. Over time we will understand more about our bodies and how they react to food, stress, and just being human. Although, this information could help us I believe allowing people to not have a prescription could do wonders for modern medicine.
Allowing prescription drugs to be over the counter would make consumers more informed about drugs and improve the quality of life. Of course, if prescription drugs could be bought over the counter but people already abuse drugs with prescriptions. Believe it or not nearly all the information regarding benefits and side effects for all drugs are published online. People could use this information to decide whether or not they believe a certain pill or treatment is right for them. Of course, if people were really unsure they could consult their physician. I don’t understand how anyone else except for me can estimate or guess with any precision my own risk/reward model. The benefits of a system like this would allow experimentation and would allow research to be conducted to see who would benefit most from certain drugs. If people with a unique illness or disease wanted to create their own trial groups to see what works or doesn’t work I am all for that. Less regulation would create more information for consumers.
In addition to this, the cost of drugs and treatments would decrease since it would be sold for over the counter. Companies like CVS and Walgreens would have to be competitive with each other. Of course, one caveat is that insurance companies would no longer cover drugs under plans since they would be sold over the counter.
Drug companies would also be forced to innovate more often since nearly every drug on the market would face competition. This would allow smaller companies to compete with major drug companies which would benefit consumers.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I believe we will have a biotech/genetic revolution. Over time we will understand more about our bodies and how they react to food, stress, and just being human. Although, this information could help us I believe allowing people to not have a prescription could do wonders for modern medicine.
No comments:
Post a Comment