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Clark Howard's Tips

January 21, 2008

Since the late 1980s, Clark has thought it's crazy that medications can only be dispensed when a doctor writes a prescription. Many other countries have their pharmacists write scripts and dispense the medication.

The FDA is now considering adopting a similar policy. We're not talking highly addictive things like Vicodin or Oxycontin here; we're talking about two-week cycles of antibiotics and other relatively benign medications.

Clark loves this idea. Doctors are already overworked and in short supply. Because pharmacists are very well-trained and knowledgeable about medications, it's almost a no-brainer to allow them to pick up some of the slack. The Los Angeles Times reports that Kaiser Permanente pharmacists already have the authority to write and fill their own scripts.

Pharmacists are a vastly underutilized resource. To treat them like clericals who just fill prescriptions isn't Clark Smart. The numbers of primary care doctors are down 50 percent, so empowering pharmacists to write prescriptions is one possible solution to the shortage.

Clark knows doctors will be up in arms about his feelings on this issue, so he's ready for the fallout on the Clark Stinks forum!

On a related noted, Minnesota has banned pharmaceutical sales reps from giving free gifts and meals to doctors. These kinds of sales practices subtly influence the brand choices doctors make when they write prescriptions. Now The New York Times reports that the pharmaceutical companies have come up with yet another tactic to influence the selection of scripts; they're wooing nurses and office managers since they can't get to the doctors anymore!

Consumer advice courtesy of