End pharmacists' monopoly on selling certain drugs

摘要

Evidence is lacking that oversight by pharmacists has benefits, writes Paul Rutter who thinks that the US dichotomy of prescription-only and non-prescription drugs is simpler. In January 2015, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency announced that oral diclofenac would no longer be available as a non-prescription drug sold exclusively under the direction of a pharmacist (a "pharmacy medicine"). Instead, it would revert to being available only on prescription because of a small but notably increased risk of cardiovascular side effects.