The Demise of Demazin
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I'm bashing this out early this week; it's nine days until exams, and this happened again on the weekend.
I'm not the bad guy. Currently, the group of customers/patients who are pissed are the parents of children under 2. I blame the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) for turning me into the bad guy. Their marketing sucks. They're wimps.
I'm not the bad guy. Currently, the group of customers/patients who are pissed are the parents of children under 2. I blame the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) for turning me into the bad guy. Their marketing sucks. They're wimps.
Here's what happened; the TGA had acted on a recommendation from the US-FDA to advise that all combination cold & 'flu products in kids under two years old. The following classes of products are now not recommended in the wee ones:
Cough suppressants
Decongestants
Sedating-AntihistaminesExpectorants
These four groups are the crux of any cold/flu medication that you're going to give with paracetamol/ibuprofen. The recommendations have pretty well carved out the entire armoury for anything I'd consider recommending to kids, as well as all the ridiculous ones.
These four groups are the crux of any cold/flu medication that you're going to give with paracetamol/ibuprofen. The recommendations have pretty well carved out the entire armoury for anything I'd consider recommending to kids, as well as all the ridiculous ones.
So, under the new rules, if you dish this stuff out, and something goes wrong, your insurance is cactus. As of August, it'll be illegal. It's important to mention that previously these products, when used in under 2s, were pharmacist only medicines, which means if you want it, you've got to convince the pharmacist you need it and get them to chuck a label on it with your kid's name and the like. Now you need to get a prescription for it. As I work the all-day Sunday shift (and most Docs don't), my hands are genuinely tied. Here's how the transcript used to go:
Mum: I need something to dry up my kid's cold/flu.
Capt. Atopic: How old's the wee tike?
Mum: 18months
Capt. Atopic: Rock on. Alleriges? Other Medicines? No. Okay, give 'em this (Hands Demazin/Dimetapp). I'll just put a label on it;
(I put on the label, finish the sale and everyone's happy)
Capt. Atopic: How old's the wee tike?
Mum: 18months
Capt. Atopic: Rock on. Alleriges? Other Medicines? No. Okay, give 'em this (Hands Demazin/Dimetapp). I'll just put a label on it;
(I put on the label, finish the sale and everyone's happy)
Here's the new scenario:
Mum: I need some Dimetapp for my kid's cold/flu.
Capt. Atopic: How old's the wee tike?
Mum: 18months
Capt. Atopic: Hmmm. Sorry; there's nothing I can recommend; Dimetapp is now prescription only.
Mum: That's ridiculous; (she then proceeds to abuse me, the system, the world and her husband's virility, before storming out)
Mum: That's ridiculous; (she then proceeds to abuse me, the system, the world and her husband's virility, before storming out)
It's pretty bloody typical; Wyeth and Schering-Plough thrash out a few million bucks to push their stuff, but as soon as the TGA pulls the pin, they wouldn't publish a media release to even alert us to their existence. Frustratingly, the science behind the reports is kosher; and I agree with the recommendations. In my opinion the medications were overused under the previous system.
However, the key with Day/Night pharmacy is to pick your battles, and until this crap was actually proven to have a greater chance of harm than help, I was happy to let sleeping dogs lie...
