Medication: Difference between revisions

The [[International Narcotics Control Board|International Narcotics Control Board]] of the [[United Nations|United Nations]] imposes a world law of [[prohibition|prohibition]] of certain drugs. They publish a lengthy list of chemicals and plants whose trade and consumption (where applicable) is forbidden. OTC drugs are sold without restriction as they are considered safe enough that most people will not hurt themselves accidentally by taking it as instructed. Many countries, such as the United Kingdom have a third category of "pharmacy medicines", which can be sold only in registered [[pharmacy|pharmacies]] by or under the supervision of a pharmacist.

[[Medical error|Medical error]]s include over prescription and [[polypharmacy|polypharmacy]], mis-prescription, contraindication and lack of detail in dosage and administrations instructions. In 2000 the definition of a prescription error was studied using a [[Delphi method|Delphi method]] conference; the conference was motivated by ambiguity in the what a prescription error and a need to use a uniform definition in studies.

In the UK, the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme is intended to ensure that the [[National Health Service|National Health Service]] is able to purchase drugs at reasonable prices. The prices are negotiated between the Department of Health, acting with the authority of Northern Ireland and the UK Government, and the representatives of the Pharmaceutical industry brands, the [[Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry|Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry]] (ABPI). For 2017 this payment percentage set by the PPRS will be 4,75%.

In India, drug prices are regulated by the [[National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority|National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority]].

The [[Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus|Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus]], the oldest known medical text of any kind, dates to about 1800 BC and represents the first documented use of any kind of drug. It and other [[medical papyri|medical papyri]] describe [[Ancient Egyptian medicine|Ancient Egyptian medical practices]], such as using [[honey|honey]] to treat infections and the legs of bee-eaters to treat neck pains.

Ancient [[Babylonian medicine|Babylonian medicine]] demonstrated the use of medication in the first half of the [[2nd millennium BC|2nd millennium BC]]. [[Cream (pharmaceutical)|Medicinal creams]] and [[Pill (pharmacy)|pills]] were employed as treatments.

On the Indian subcontinent, the [[Atharvaveda|Atharvaveda]], a sacred text of [[Hinduism|Hinduism]] whose core dates from the second millennium BC, although the hymns recorded in it are believed to be older, is the first Indic text dealing with medicine. It describes plant-based drugs to counter diseases. The earliest foundations of [[ayurveda|ayurveda]] were built on a synthesis of selected ancient herbal practices, together with a massive addition of theoretical conceptualizations, new [[nosology|nosologies]] and new therapies dating from about 400 BC onwards. The student of Āyurveda was expected to know ten arts that were indispensable in the preparation and application of his medicines: distillation, operative skills, cooking, horticulture, metallurgy, sugar manufacture, pharmacy, analysis and separation of minerals, compounding of metals, and preparation of [[alkalis|alkalis]].

The [[Hippocratic Oath|Hippocratic Oath]] for physicians, attributed to fifth century BC Greece, refers to the existence of "deadly drugs", and [[Medicine in ancient Greece|ancient Greek physicians]] imported drugs from Egypt and elsewhere. The [[pharmacopoeia|pharmacopoeia]] ''[[De materia medica|De materia medica]],'' written between 50 and 70 CE by the Greek physician [[Pedanius Dioscorides|Pedanius Dioscorides]], was widely read for more than 1,500 years.

[[Al-Kindi|Al-Kindi]]'s ninth century AD book, ''[[De Gradibus|De Gradibus]]'' and [[Ibn Sina|Ibn Sina]] (Avicenna)'s ''[[The Canon of Medicine|The Canon of Medicine]]'', covers a range of drugs known to the practice of [[medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine in the medieval Islamic world]].

[[Medieval medicine of Western Europe|Medieval medicine of Western Europe]] saw advances in surgery compared to previously, but few truly effective drugs existed, beyond [[opium|opium]] (found in such extremely popular drugs as the "Great Rest" of the [[Antidotarium Nicolai|Antidotarium Nicolai]] at the time) and [[quinine|quinine]]. Folklore cures and potentially poisonous metal-based compounds were popular treatments. [[Theodoric Borgognoni|Theodoric Borgognoni]], (1205–1296), one of the most significant surgeons of the medieval period, responsible for introducing and promoting important surgical advances including basic [[antiseptic|antiseptic]] practice and the use of [[anaesthetic|anaesthetic]]s. [[Garcia de Orta|Garcia de Orta]] described some herbal treatments that were used.

For most of the 19th century, drugs were not highly effective, leading [[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.]] to famously comment in 1842 that "if all medicines in the world were thrown into the sea, it would be all the better for mankind and all the worse for the fishes".

During the [[First World War|First World War]], [[Alexis Carrel|Alexis Carrel]] and [[Henry Drysdale Dakin|Henry Dakin]] developed the Carrel-Dakin method of treating wounds with an irrigation, Dakin's solution, a germicide which helped prevent [[gangrene|gangrene]].

[[World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] negotiations in the 1990s, including the [[TRIPS Agreement|TRIPS Agreement]] and the [[Doha Declaration|Doha Declaration]], have centered on issues at the intersection of international trade in pharmaceuticals and [[intellectual property rights|intellectual property rights]], with developed world nations seeking strong intellectual property rights to protect investments made to develop new drugs, and developing world nations seeking to promote their generic pharmaceuticals industries and their ability to make medicine available to their people via [[compulsory licenses|compulsory licenses]].

[[Novartis|Novartis]] fought a protracted battle with the government of India over the patenting of its drug, [[Gleevec|Gleevec]], in India, which ended up in a Supreme Court in a case known as [[Novartis v. Union of India & Others|Novartis v. Union of India & Others]].  The Supreme Court ruled narrowly against Novartis, but opponents of patenting drugs claimed it as a major victory.

The environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products is controversial. PPCPs are substances used by individuals for personal health or [[cosmetics|cosmetic]] reasons and the products used by [[agribusiness|agribusiness]] to boost growth or health of livestock.  PPCPs comprise a diverse collection of thousands of chemical substances, including prescription and over-the-counter therapeutic drugs, veterinary drugs, fragrances, and cosmetics. PPCPs have been detected in water bodies throughout the world and ones that persist in the environment are called [[Environmental Persistent Pharmaceutical Pollutant|Environmental Persistent Pharmaceutical Pollutant]]s.  The effects of these chemicals on humans and the environment are not yet known, but to date there is no scientific evidence that they affect human health.