4 ms·

Why is it the pharmacist’s job to verify the medical need for the drug? Isn’t that what the doctor is for? Let’s say you have high blood pressure like most Ame

Why is it the pharmacist’s job to verify the medical need for the drug? Isn’t that what the doctor is for? Let’s say you have high blood pressure like most Americans. Does your pharmacist also need to check your blood pressure before you can get the meds?

verdverm 5y ago
Pharmacies can see trends and should have known something was amiss. Silence doesn't exclude you from wrong doing.
- relbeek2 5y ago
  But If a doctor prescribed the drug, why would the pharmacy refuse it? At a micro level, the doctors have the same access as pharmacies to know prior drug usage and are the ones directing the pharmacy. At a macro level, are the pharmacies supposed to work together to combine data sources to find the trends? That sounds like a HIPAA nightmare. A better approach is to have a government agency watch for trends in drug usage. This is exactly what the DEA is supposed to be doing, so why aren’t they at fault.
  - verdverm 5y ago
    CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart all know how much stock they are buying and selling. We aren't talking about denying individuals as much as whistleblowing on trans changes in addictive prescriptions. We're talking about the big pharmacies being culpable with Purdue Pharma. I think you are looking for the FDA which oversees "legal" drugs whereas the DEA is largely focuses on "illegal" drugs. Quotes because context matters
    - relbeek2 5y ago
      What you described is exactly the purpose of ARCOS, a system the DEA uses to monitor the quantities of scheduled drugs. [1] I’m not sure what the FDAs play in this is, perhaps they have connections into the states PMP/PDMP programs. The DEA doesn’t just focus on “illegal drugs” it focuses on all controlled substances, schedule 1-5. The DEA is actually the one who typically catches doctors for overprescribing controlled substances.[2] [1] https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/arcos/index.html https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/arcos/index.html [2] https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/crim_admin_actions/index.html https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/crim_admin_actions/index....

verdverm 5y ago

Pharmacies can see trends and should have known something was amiss. Silence doesn't exclude you from wrong doing.

relbeek2 5y ago
But If a doctor prescribed the drug, why would the pharmacy refuse it? At a micro level, the doctors have the same access as pharmacies to know prior drug usage and are the ones directing the pharmacy. At a macro level, are the pharmacies supposed to work together to combine data sources to find the trends? That sounds like a HIPAA nightmare. A better approach is to have a government agency watch for trends in drug usage. This is exactly what the DEA is supposed to be doing, so why aren’t they at fault.
- verdverm 5y ago
  CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart all know how much stock they are buying and selling. We aren't talking about denying individuals as much as whistleblowing on trans changes in addictive prescriptions. We're talking about the big pharmacies being culpable with Purdue Pharma. I think you are looking for the FDA which oversees "legal" drugs whereas the DEA is largely focuses on "illegal" drugs. Quotes because context matters
  - relbeek2 5y ago
    What you described is exactly the purpose of ARCOS, a system the DEA uses to monitor the quantities of scheduled drugs. [1] I’m not sure what the FDAs play in this is, perhaps they have connections into the states PMP/PDMP programs. The DEA doesn’t just focus on “illegal drugs” it focuses on all controlled substances, schedule 1-5. The DEA is actually the one who typically catches doctors for overprescribing controlled substances.[2] [1] https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/arcos/index.html https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/arcos/index.html [2] https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/crim_admin_actions/index.html https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/crim_admin_actions/index....