Live data from Hacker News

U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

bloombergquint.com

21–30 of 308 posts

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#21

Yikes, my girlfriend is applying to med school as we speak. The medical industry is certainly a highly regulated, potentially overpriced service for decades now. When I see a headline like this, I have to seriously ask myself: "Is this when the bubble finally pops, or will it be status quo for another generation?"

Does your GF really want to rubber stamp things epipen Rxs? Once you have the allergy diagnosis, it generally doesn't go away.

It's kind of like low tech automation.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#23
> Patients could answer questions on a mobile-phone app to help determine whether they should be able to access a medication without a prescription.

Day 2: Websites showing the correct answers to get anything you want show up.

This is an absolutely bonkers idea.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#24
The true root of the problem is largely systemic: healthcare is a for-profit system in this country and was poorly designed in the first place.

For example, employment based health insurance is largely a relic from WW2 because companies couldn't increase wages and offered it to entice workers. This was logical at the time, but in the 21st century makes very little sense.

Until we can turn it into a true public service, little will change. We can band aid the solution as much as we want but we will never be able to resolve the true core problems.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#26
post #19

I have mixed feelings about this, especially considering the US is the only first world country where direct-to-consumer marketing is allowed for medications. Bypassing the prescription requirement is of course of significant value to drug companies, who expend quite a bit of resources to sway doctors with free lunches, conferences and soft persuasion tactics. Usually I welcome the freedom to chose but this doesn't i…

One of my friends has type I diabetes, in more than one times, she needed urgent visit/call to her doctors just to get the medicine she has being taken for years.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#27
post #4

Similar to this idea, the province of Alberta in Canada allows pharmacists to write prescriptions for patients with only the only limit that they can't prescribe controlled substances.

This seems quite different; pharmacists are trained professionals, and not a mobile phone app.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#28
post #8
post #4

Similar to this idea, the province of Alberta in Canada allows pharmacists to write prescriptions for patients with only the only limit that they can't prescribe controlled substances.

Presumably only for trivial conditions id hope. Edit it will also lead to over prescribing of antibiotics and cause drug resistance to rise

> Presumably only for trivial conditions id [sic] hope

I'd hope not. I used to be asthmatic. At one point in my life, getting--and paying co-pay for--a doctor's appointment was not easy. There were nights when I weighed suffering a little longer against the risk of triggering an ER visit. Being able to go to a pharmacy to get albuterol would have made a tough time easier with minimal risk to anyone else.

Re: U.S. to make More Drugs Easily Available, Cutting Role Doctors Play

#29
post #12
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably only for trivial conditions id hope. Edit it will also lead to over prescribing of antibiotics and cause drug resistance to rise

I'd actually hope not. Many people have chronic conditions which require periodic visits to a doctor mainly for the same prescription to be renewed. A doctor should absolutely be involved in follow-up management, but don't make patients go every two or three months just to get the same prescription as last time and to get insurance to cover the meds. Once a chronic but potentially well-managed condition is diagnosed,…

As some one who has lived with a serious chronic condition id say the opposite - I don't have anyting against my local pharmacy (and they have been good and even hand delivered meds )

But I suspect that they probably have two at most patients like me as opposed to the nephrology specialists who see dozens of people like me each week.

Post reply on HN