TY - JOUR
T1 - Pharmacists, Pharmaceuticals, and Drug Information in the 21st Century
AU - Schondelmeyer, Stephen W.
PY - 1985/4/1
Y1 - 1985/4/1
N2 - The future holds great promise for the Rx-to-OTC switch, if we will collectively plan and manage that process. The impact of Rx-to-OTC switches will extend far beyond the technical and regulatory issues and implications. Certainly, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission are at the center of this issue, but no less important are the roles of physicians, pharmacists, and consumers. The social and economical, and even logistical, aspects of the switch process should be considered as antecedents to an Rx-to-OTC switch policy, rather than as consequences to be measured after such a policy has been determined. Finally, the evolution of an Rx-to-OTC switch policy in the coming months and years should avoid the path of political and administrative expediency and it should avoid the consideration of special interests in isolation from the broader social context. The development of a sound Rx-to-O TC switch policy will occur only if the direction and demand truly comes from within the ranks of the consumers.
AB - The future holds great promise for the Rx-to-OTC switch, if we will collectively plan and manage that process. The impact of Rx-to-OTC switches will extend far beyond the technical and regulatory issues and implications. Certainly, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission are at the center of this issue, but no less important are the roles of physicians, pharmacists, and consumers. The social and economical, and even logistical, aspects of the switch process should be considered as antecedents to an Rx-to-OTC switch policy, rather than as consequences to be measured after such a policy has been determined. Finally, the evolution of an Rx-to-OTC switch policy in the coming months and years should avoid the path of political and administrative expediency and it should avoid the consideration of special interests in isolation from the broader social context. The development of a sound Rx-to-O TC switch policy will occur only if the direction and demand truly comes from within the ranks of the consumers.
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Futurist
KW - Health information
KW - Pharmacy
KW - Rx-to-OTC switch
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0021921343&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/009286158501900221
DO - 10.1177/009286158501900221
M3 - Article
C2 - 10272204
AN - SCOPUS:0021921343
SN - 0092-8615
VL - 19
SP - 185
EP - 193
JO - Drug Information Journal
JF - Drug Information Journal
IS - 2
ER -