sumatriptan

[Mrs. Robinson]

Four migraine attacks are not enough to buy sumatriptan recovery and even well established pattern of those attacks are not enough if they started within the last year. Don’t you think it’s a little bit too strict? If it was well diagnosed by a GP eg three months ago, it doesn’t matter?

[silnarnin]

The product license in the imigran recovery (Pharmacy medicine) and the imigran (Prescription-only medicine) is different, despite the fact that they are exactly the same drug. In practice this means that the company that makes imigran and the agency that regulates medicines in the UK are quite happy for the pharmacist to sell imigran if s/he follows the protocol of sale, while they are happy for the doctor to prescribe it in other situations.

This means that the pharmacist can only sell imigran after having acessed the patient using the questionaire, and only if the answer match the situations expected by the Pharmacy-product license. The doctor can prescribe higher doses and higher quantities and to a wider grgoup of patients, that can even have some contra-indications against the imigran, but in his understanding as the clinician, and having access to the medical history of the patient, he thinks that the benefit exceeds the risk.

For example: in the pharmacy we can't sell imigran to patient with history of high blood pressure. However, the doctor can prescribe it if looking at the medical history that he has in the surgery the blood pressure is on target and under control - the pharmacist has no way of knowing it.

If the pharmacist sold it outsidee the product license, and the patient suffered a bad sidee effect, the company that makes imigran would not take any responsibility and the pharmacist would suffer the consequences.

[BimboRat]

Just to throw a cat amoung the pigeons... Would you agree to sell a box of the P-med if a patient presents on a weekend saying that he's run out and forgot to order his repeat?

[Pharmanaut]

Originally Posted by BimboRat

Just to throw a cat amoung the pigeons... Would you agree to sell a box of the P-med if a patient presents on a weekend saying that he's run out and forgot to order his repeat?

The pharmacy 'moral maze'.
You would have to use your judgement and ask the patient...
"Can you assure me that you are prescribed this on a regular basis and your doctor has not discontinued the treatment for any reason, and your symptoms and general health are the same".
Of course, you could check the PMR if they are one of 'yours'.

[johnep]

Have had to do exactly this on a couple of OOH rotas.
johnep