It was a surprise to me to learn today that one does not need a prescription to buy insulin (as well as insulin syringes) in a pharmacy, except for newer formulations like Lantus. One of the antepartum patients on the floor today has been self-medicating herself with regular insulin for a few years without seeing a doctor, and if it wasn't because she decided to come to the hospital to check if her pregnancy is "ok" (she has no insurance and said she doesn't qualify for Medi-Cal), no one would have told her that this is a problem.
Insulin can be some pretty lethal stuff and I think the fact that you can get it over-the-counter is scary. You could overdose yourself or someone with insulin and kill the person. Sure you could overdose someone with a bottle of Tylenol or by just taking someone's insulin vials, but the fact that there is no regulation regarding the sale of insulin is awry. Regular insulin acts in minutes, whereas the prescription-only Lantus insulin is long-acting and relatively less lethal when overdosed. In comparison, most sleeping pills are available by prescriptions only. On the other side of the scale, inadequate control of diabetes due to lack to a doctor's guidence can be dangerous to the patient (and in the above case, her unborn child) as well.
This page shows that most states do not need a prescription for insulin and syringes.
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3 comments:
ya, some OTC can be very dangerous, i got dudes who come in taking loads of tylenol a day
so the question is, if patient screw up their own insulin, who get sued?
So you would rather have someone with diabetes go without their insulin because they cannot afford $150 for another dr visit that year, plus what other labs? Yet they can pay the $20/vial of insulin and $40 for test strips. (But not both the supplies and appointment.) Which would you prefer? Death? Or your oversight of their pursuit of the perfect A1C?
What if your diabetic patient were on vacation and accidentally left her vial of insulin in a hot car? No prescription (no refills) with her and it's a holiday weekend. Isn't it nice she could walk into a pharmacy and just buy it without the hassle of a prescription?
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