Prescription medications are drugs that must be licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, it is the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1987 that defines what requires a prescription and it is usually an MD, DO, PA, OD, DPM, DVM, DDS, or DMD who must write the prescriptions to the patients. Other individuals such as basic registered nurses, social workers, psychologists, etc. do not have the right or authority to prescribe certain medications.
Inside the prescription drug bottles, an insert provides information that explains the anticipated effect and side effects of the drug and how it works in the body. The insert also offers explanations on how a patient should take the drug and cautions for its use, including warnings about allergies.
For your standard flu, colds and other remedies, over-the-counter drugs (OTC) are generally used to treat conditions. These medications do not necessarily require care from a health care professional and have been proven to meet higher safety standards for self-medication by patients. However, often a lower strength of a drug will be approved for OTC use, while higher strengths require a prescription to be obtained. For example, a notable drug found in stores is ibuprofen, which has been widely available as an OTC pain killer since the mid-1980s. Nonetheless ibuprofen is still available by prescription in doses up to four times the OTC dose for use in cases of severe pain not adequately controlled by the lower, OTC strength.
Drugs that are not regulated by the FDA are general herbal pills, vitamins, minerals and food supplements that can be found anywhere. Because of this, individual consumers must be extra cautious of the potential negative effects of using these in conjunction with other medications.
