Off-label Prescriptions and their Controversy
Physicians have recently come under fire as a result of a study which showed that half the doctors in America are in the habit of prescribing placebos – drugs which don’t actually do anything. They’re prescribed to patients to make them feel as though something is being done to help their condition. Often, people experience better health simply because they’re mind believes that the drug is helping their condition, when the drug actually has no physiological effects.
However, there is actually another concern about prescribing medications that is far more serious, and even has the potential to be harmful, not to mention needlessly expensive, even if you have a dedicated prescription drug health insurance plan; this is a habit many doctors have called off-label prescribing.
Off-label prescribing is the practice of prescribing a medication for a purpose for which it is not intended or approved. The FDA approves drugs for certain purposes – but once the drug is approved, they don’t regulate its use. This means doctors can, and do, prescribe drugs to be used in ways which haven’t been approved. With a few notable exceptions, this process is at best just more pointless (and needlessly expensive) prescribing of placebos.
Statistics for Off-label Prescriptions
In 2001, American doctors wrote a whopping 150 million off-label prescriptions – drugs being used to treat conditions other than those which are FDA-approved. That’s 21% of all prescriptions for 160 of the most commonly-used medications in the country. For drugs used in the treatment of psychiatric issues, it’s a little over 30%.
And here’s another staggering statistic: about 75% of all the off-label prescriptions were used to treat conditions for which there is virtually no scientific evidence to prove they work. Often, off-labeling is done on the basis of anecdotal evidence, rather than scientific studies.
The thing is, in the eyes of the law, there’s no problem: it’s illegal for drug companies to promote drugs for off-label prescribing, but it’s not illegal for doctors to prescribe off-label drugs. And obviously, drug companies don’t think it’s unethical that their drugs are used in this way (of course, if drug companies discourage off-labeling they’ll lose a big chunk of revenue, so naturally they’re not going to discourage it).
Off-Label Drugs and You
So what’s the message for the consumer? Be cautious when your doctor’s prescribing medications. Off-labeling isn’t necessarily something that’s going to hurt you, but there’s definitely no harm in asking your doctor for more information about the medications they’re giving you – especially when you, or your insurance, is footing the bill. If your off-label medication is just another placebo, you don’t need it.
photo credit: BitterScripts
