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> such as ketamine and estketamine for TRD, are really only available in the US Go careful here. Ketamine infusion is a pretty heavy duty intervention and pat
by DanBC 6y ago
> such as ketamine and estketamine for TRD, are really only available in the US
Go careful here. Ketamine infusion is a pretty heavy duty intervention and patients require careful monitoring while taking the infusion and for a short term afterwards.
In the UK we're looking at 1:1 nurse:patient ratios, delivered in ECT suites.
In the US the way increased access has been achieved is by dropping down the nurse:patient ratio and delivering it in wider settings. It's a more risky way to deliver the treatment.
We know that in the US there's already a problem of "doctor shopping" -- going around doctors until you find one willing to prescribe ketamine / eskatamine. This is normally associated with harmful prescribing, although it's too early to say if that's the case with these meds.
EDIT to add: There are cultural differences here. The US sees access to medication as being the same as access to treatment. The UK sees it as over-medication with at best ineffective treatment, and at worst treatment that causes harm.
- ketamine__ 6y ago> Go careful here. Ketamine infusion is a pretty heavy duty intervention and patients require careful monitoring while taking the infusion and for a short term afterwards. I've been taking ketamine lozenges at home for 2+ years now. Ketamine is a very safe drug. It is used in pediatrics and on the WHO's list of essential medicines. It's hard to find any fatalities directly attributed ketamine in the literature. The infusion therapy you speak of has been used to rob patients blind. Before I found a doctor that would prescribe I was on target to waste 10k a year. And that's not even considering the wasted time of appointments in the clinic. > We know that in the US there's already a problem of "doctor shopping" -- going around doctors until you find one willing to prescribe ketamine / eskatamine. This is normally associated with harmful prescribing, although it's too early to say if that's the case with these meds. Doctor shopping refers to going to different doctors to get more medication or to divert the prescription for profit. If one is depressed and seeks treatment from a researcher and doctor in another city or state it is not doctor shopping because of the underlying medical condition. Seeking help is not a crime. Nevertheless, could you please post proof that there is a problem since you made that claim?
- httpsterio 6y agoThat's not really what doctor shopping means. Doctor shopping refers to going from doctor to doctor until you get a doctor who writes the medications/tests/diagnoses etc that you want. Ie. instead of accepting the judgement of one doctor, you change them until you find one that agrees with with what you want from them.