h a l f b a k e r yQuis custodiet the custard?
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I think that you're heading for a hopeless WIBNI with this, jon3. Expecting 'officialdom' to actually trust members of the public. I can see the be-suited bureaucrats recoiling in horror even as I write. |
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Given that you're already on a repeat prescription, and you're getting the prescription repeated, this seems fairly reasonable. Your practitioner should still see you at intervals though.
Somewhat off-topic, [jon3], my wife used asthma medication for over twenty years with no long-term benefit. After a course in the Buteyko method (link) three years ago, she has used none since. You may want to try it. |
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//which could be doled out at only so many units a year// |
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Your doctor currently regulates this. You can only get further medication (a repeat prescription) if he (a highly trained professional) deems it necessary. A responsible doctor will only "dole out so many a year". This is an excellent system. |
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If the visits to the doctor were scrapped, who do you suggest would ensure that you don't overdose? There is no central body to keep records. |
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A card that the patient carries to be stamped every time they receive a new batch of medication would be too prone to theft/forgery/black market exploitation. Doctors notes and judgement are the most secure way of ensuring that medication is distributed effectively, legally and safely. |
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[angel], thanx for the link. |
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On my travels, I have noticed that there are many countries where drugs are available "over the counter" that require precriptions elsewhere; your ability to purchase such medications is limited merely by your spending power. And yet society amazingly fails to collapse. |
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I am however very much in favour of the control of medications where there is a risk of drug resistance developing through incorrect or inappropriate use. |
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//who do you suggest would ensure that you don't overdose // |
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[Mayfly] - you would. It's quite hard to harm yourself accidentally with a lot of these things, and if people want to harm themselves deliberately then we might as well just let them get on with it; they tend to find a way anyway. Humans are pretty ingenious in that direction. |
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Simple question: "Can this thing be used to harm another person ?" |
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if YES - controls MAY be necessary. |
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If NO - Its' your life. How you screw it up is YOUR business. |
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As a diabetic who invariably runs out of insulin on the Friday afternoon of a Bank Holiday weekend (aargh!), or on one occasion, went to see a friend in Brighton and found my spare container was smashed on the journey, and had to traipse around the hospitals to find a doctor to do me a prescription, then conduct yet more traipsing to find a @!%?*ing pharmacist that was still open (...whatever noise is one step up from, "Aargh!"), I heartily put my thumbs up this idea. |
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Perhaps a time-limited (quarterly, six-monthly, whatever) drug-pass would be more secure though. |
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"Automatic Prescription Machine" - drug-vending ATM .... |
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I firmly believe that you're overestimating the intelligence level of the general public. |
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Although it sounds like I am advocating a "nanny-state", I'm actually trying to save the health of the masses by preventing accidental overdose caused by stupidity/misinformation/desperation, and trying to save the resultant burden on the health service. |
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//if people want to harm themselves deliberately then we might as well just let them get on with it// |
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Two scenarios for you all: |
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a) Excessive use of the drug has no harmful side effects. So make it available without a prescription and anyone can swallow/inhale/inject as much as they like. No problem. |
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b) Excessive use of the drug has harmful side effects. So use a qualified professional to control the use of the drug and advise the user on the possible hazards of misuse and to ultimately ensure the user is not harmed by overdosing. A doctor can also make informed decisions about whether the drug is actually benefiting the user, or whether an alternative drug/treatment would be more appropriate. Studying the rate of usage is a key part of this decision. |
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Also, please see this from the doctor’s point of view: |
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Patient: “Can I have a lifetime supply of drug X please?”.
Doctor thinks ‘No, you’re a stupid inbred hypochondriac who I wouldn’t trust to use an aspirin correctly’.
Doctor actually says “?????……..”.
I can imagine patient suing doctors when they are refused a lifetime pass. |
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