A Monroe state Representative files legislation that, if passed, would require pharmacists to fill so-called off-label medications. Republican lawmaker Mike Echols says off-label drugs are any that are prescribed for a patient that has not been approved by peer groups or the FDA. He says, during the pandemic, some patients could not get prescriptions for some drugs (Ivermectin in particular) because the Food & Drug Administration or other medical peer groups discouraged filling them.
“We saw some groups that tried to slow down or stop certain types of prescriptions – no matter what they were. And in the patient/physician or patient prescribing relationship … that’s something that should be preserved and have the highest degree of integrity,” said Echols.
A number of doctors reported good results with treating COVID cases with Ivermectin, but official focus was placed on using the vaccines; not any therapeutic drugs. Echols says it’s not for the FDA, the AMA, or the CDC to decide what legal meds your doctor and pharmacist can provide you, and his bill would put that into state statutes.
“I would definitely take a doctor’s words over a bunch of politicians trying to influence these types of processes, so … that’s what I’m trying to preserve is protect those relationships.”
Echols feels that no one should be able to get in between the relationship between a doctor and patient. His House Bill 117 is one of the hundreds to be debated during the Regular Legislative Session, which starts March 14th. A similar bill will also be introduced in the Senate. Echols says he is open to merging the two into one.
Comments