What if most medications were sold over-the-counter?

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reportedly mulling whether more prescription drugs should be sold over the counter (OTC) at pharmacies. In an interview on Wednesday, FDA commissioner Martin Makary told CNBC that everything should be over the counter except drugs that are deemed unsafe or addictive or that require clinical monitoring. Makary said the agency is reviewing how it decides which drugs can be sold with or without a prescription from a health care practitioner."

"It's unclear exactly how the FDA is reviewing the rules around OTC drugs or what the timing will be, but in the same interview, Makary said the agency is going through the proper regulatory processes. The FDA declined a request for comment from Scientific American. To understand how the move could change access to medication, Scientific American spoke with pharmacy experts about the proposed change in prescription drug policy."

U.S. regulatory authorities are reviewing criteria for designating prescription drugs as over-the-counter to potentially broaden OTC availability. The review would exclude drugs deemed unsafe, addictive, or requiring clinical monitoring. Some prescription treatments, including vaginal estrogen and certain antinausea medications, are candidates for OTC status. Pharmacy law experts caution that expanding OTC access should be selective and that making all prescription drugs OTC would be an overstatement. OTC medications follow FDA-approved monograph standards applied to all manufacturers, with exceptions for higher doses or uses outside labeled indications.

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