"FOUR CLASSES OF DRUGS ONLY" NEEDED

Worldwide, there needs to be only four classifications for availability of pharmaceutical products, according to delegates attending the first International Conference on Pharmaceutical Competence, held in the Netherlands last month.

Discussing the internationalization standardization of drug legislation, delegates said that medicines should be classed as follows: those available on prescription only, those which may only be sold by pharmacists, those which are available through pharmacies and those which are suitable for general sale. Such standardization would facilitate the switching of prescription-only drugs to more liberalized status, save money and ensure that consumers could obtain their medicines conveniently, and with the benefit of a pharmacist's advice.

In order to facilitate such a move, delegates said that an international database of national pharmaceutical scheduling should be established. Among the changes the four classifications would bring for pharmacists would be a requirement for them to have greater access to diagnosis information, and for them to establish their credibility regarding drug products switched from prescription-only to over-the-counter status.