You can only purchase a prescription medicine if you have a prescription for it from your doctor. Examples of prescription medicines include contraceptive pills. that is regulated by legislation to require a medical prescription before it can be obtained.
The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug.
All medications sold in the United States can be divided into two categories:
- Prescription medications that require a prescription from an authorized prescriber (for example, doctor, nurse practitioner, dentist, etc).
- Nonprescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications that do not require a prescription from an authorized prescriber (for example, doctor, nurse practitioner, dentist, etc).
Prescription medications are generally more potent than those sold over-the-counter (OTC).
Historical Background of Prescription:
- The regulation of drugs in the United States began with the Import Drugs Act of 1846, enacted after Mexico sold the US Army tainted drugs to treat malaria.
- In 1906, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was formed, primarily to regulate commerce and to combat the then rampant adulteration (debasement or dilution of a substance by adding other material) of foods and drugs.
- The FDA was not empowered to address drug safety issues until 1938, following the unnecessary deaths of 107 children from a new drug preparation. This incident led to laws that required drugs be proven safe before they were allowed on the market.
- The last major regulatory change was the provision of the FDA in 1962 that drugs be proven to be effective as well as safe before they could be used.
- Today, the FDA continues to regulate all drugs sold in the US, both by insuring that they are safe and effective in what they do before they are released and by limiting their distribution by deciding which medications require a prescription to be sold.
