If you take prescription drugs on a daily basis, what is being proposed by the FDA could very well turn out to be a game changer.
You might soon be able to get cholesterol-lowering drugs and other widely used prescription meds without seeing a doctor. The FDA says this would work with you answering questions on a mobile app. Of course there are positives; you wouldn’t have to call your doctor every six months for your prescriptions. You wouldn't be paying as much. Dr. Shahan Choudhury with Diamond Physicians says it's about access.
“Yes it’s greater access. Yes it’s more convenient for the patient,” she stated.
Because there are negatives to this, too.
“Is that the best thing overall? I feel like this is a short cut that’s not good for us in the long run,” Choudhury explained. “What happens when you have side effects? Does it have implications on other organs in the body? There are so many questions.”
This is not the first time the FDA has come up with this kind of plan. They proposed similar things in 2007 and 2012.