# Pharmacist prescribing debate \[continued\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 2, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173 "2011-08-02T12:10:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/41 "2011-08-06T11:18:09Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > And how have doctors willingness to provide abortions come out in your estimation? You mean how many are willing to risk the deaths of themselves and their families at the hands of “pro-life” terrorists? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/42 "2011-08-08T18:58:42Z")
And how do you feel about a doctor that refuses to perform abortions for moral reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/43 "2011-08-08T19:11:35Z")
> [@eddiec3434](#): > > A pharmacist with a sadistic power trip. A doctor want-to-be at the expense of a legitimately suffering patient. > Sorry for the whinning A bad situation, but your problem-solving skills then and your derogatory ethnic comments now do not serve you well. As for the OP, I seriously doubt my pharmacist colleagues will want to diagnose and treat patients in any significant numbers. I’m confident they’ll leave that to me. Meanwhile, they’ll help keep my prescriptions appropriate and legal, which is invaluable, given the current glut of new regulations and increasing numbers of interactions among more and more complex and new drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/44 "2011-08-08T19:18:27Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > And how do you feel about a doctor that refuses to perform abortions for moral reasons? Women wishing to terminate a pregnancy don’t just knock on a random MD’s door & ask to be aborted. In fact, it’s hard to get an OB consult in a timely fashion for many ladies who _want_ to have the kid. To get an abortion, one needs to go to a clinic or PP or a specific MD who does pregnancy termination. In fact, I’d suggest your hypothetical moral MD go into a field that doesn’t involve women of childbearing age. Not every pregnancy is safe for the mother; not every baby will be capable of living a worthwhile life. (Google _Birth Deformity_ Images & get back to me.) A person ought to be able to fill a legal prescription at any pharmacy. Dispensing controlled substances requires extra vigilence on the part of the PharmD. Might there be a physician error? Sure, make a call to the MD. Any pharmacist wishing to play moralist with his job needs to post a sign indicating the fact–on the front door of the pharmacy. As a warning to women in need. And to those of us NOT in need, so we’ll know to take our business elsewhere. Even if we’re just buying vitamins… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/45 "2011-08-08T19:21:27Z")
> [@eddiec3434](#): > > I waited all day to get the prescription only to have the little Aisian pharmacist exert her little authority by denying the script only because she needed to employ a power trip. "Ah I sawee must varify with doktor tomorrow. She just need to show that her thankless 20 per hr. job meant something. I told her that she was nothing more than a dispensor and far from a doctor and she better fill it before I shatter all her buck teeth that stuck out at a 90 degree angle. This is totally inappropriate for this forum - or any other, really, although if you post it in the Pit, people will at least be able to respond in kind. I’m giving you a formal warning here. Don’t do this again. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/46 "2011-08-18T17:14:25Z")
Going back to the OP, such as it is, how is this supposed to work? 1. Patient sees doctor. 2. Doctor renders diagnosis. Writes it on… a diagnosis pad? 3. Patient takes diagnosis “script” to pharmacy. 4. Pharmacist writes prescription for Medicine X. 5. Pharmacist dispenses prescription. Okay, so assuming everything goes according to plan, that’s fine. But… what happens if the original diagnosis is incorrect? Is the pharmacist going to dispense a different drug because the first one didn’t work? Presumably it will still be for the originally diagnosed condition. ---
**Author:** ![OneMissedPost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@OneMissedPost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneMissedPost)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/47 "2011-08-18T19:07:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Going back to the OP, such as it is, how is this supposed to work? > > 1. Patient sees doctor. > 2. Doctor renders diagnosis. Writes it on… a diagnosis pad? > 3. Patient takes diagnosis “script” to pharmacy. > 4. Pharmacist writes prescription for Medicine X. > 5. Pharmacist dispenses prescription. > > Okay, so assuming everything goes according to plan, that’s fine. But… what happens if the original diagnosis is incorrect? Is the pharmacist going to dispense a different drug because the first one didn’t work? Presumably it will still be for the originally diagnosed condition. Yes, doctors are not infallible. They make mistakes. It happens. That is why people get second-opinions and third-opinions, etc. Sometimes, doctors even prescribe the wrong medication. It happens. Also, sometimes the medication doesn’t work and the doctor needs to prescribe a new medication. Also, pharmacists do not write prescriptions, doctors write prescriptions and pharmacists fill the prescriptions. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/48 "2011-08-18T20:58:27Z")
> [@zereadam](#): > > This is very tricky.I want anyone one of you remind that pharmacists are the drug experts.Could you tell me who discover most of the drugs? Could you tell me who discover the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of each drug? could you tell me who investigates the therapeutic effects of these drugs? could you tell me who manufacture the drugs? Could you tell me who control the quality of these drugs? You should think twice before you open your mouth to talk about!. THINK…THINK…THINK!!! This is the philosophy!. [http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/02/16/ohio-university-forefront-drug-rd/](http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/02/16/ohio-university-forefront-drug-rd/) This is where drugs are developed. This s\article just mentions a few universities that are involved in drug research. There are schools across the country working on medical discoveries. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/49 "2011-08-19T04:20:11Z")
> [@OneMissedPost](#): > > Yes, doctors are not infallible. They make mistakes. It happens. That is why people get second-opinions and third-opinions, etc. > > Sometimes, doctors even prescribe the wrong medication. It happens. Also, sometimes the medication doesn’t work and the doctor needs to prescribe a new medication. > > Also, pharmacists do not write prescriptions, doctors write prescriptions and pharmacists fill the prescriptions. Thanks, pal. Perhaps you should read the thread and try again. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173/50 "2011-08-19T04:39:12Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > And how do you feel about a doctor that refuses to perform abortions for moral reasons? That they are woman hating scum and have nothing that I would consider a valid “morality”. I wouldn’t trust such a doctor under any circumstances; that’s the sort of doctor who’d likely deliberately misdiagnose people just to punish them for their “immorality”.. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-prescribing-debate-continued/591173.md?page=2)