The Perils Of The Pharmacy, Resolved By An App
Rock Hill, South Carolina (PRWEB) April 28, 2015 -- The National Institute on Drug Abuse says nonmedical use of OTC meds and prescriptions continues to be a growing problem among teens and adults, while a mobile app attempts to offer a powerful new resource. Recent headlines are reminding readers why mobile technology can serve as a valuable tool at the pharmacy and mobile apps can now put scores of useful reference material on over-the-counter medications as close as the nearest smart phone.
At the medical website Healio it was reported last week that “Adolescent abuse of prescription, OTC drugs remains an issue” following survey data gathered by researchers at the University of Michigan and published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That same report found that among high school-age children, 13% have abused OTC medications such as pain relievers , cold medicines and tranquilizers.
Other findings among the data include nearly 7 percent of high school seniors admitting to “nonmedical use” of Adderall while Vicodin has been abused regularly by roughly 4.8%. The same surveys also reported an uptick in OTC and prescription drug abuse among adult Americans.
In response, this month the president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Dr. Karen Rizzo, commented to Infectious Diseases in Children on the data, saying “It’s a situation that I think is more common than we realize, where family members have prescription medications in the medicine cabinet that may be old or utilized for a problem that is no longer current and yet they forget to discard the medication.”
Mobile apps like OTC aim to provide an important service in this battle, giving parents and patients of all ages access to critical resource material on medication, including the addictive properties of a certain product. Many parents worried about the risks of addiction will closely monitor which meds they allow in the home, according to the app’s developer.
“It’s basically a Yellow Pages for your pharmacy aisle,” Dr. Sandeep Grewal says of the Android and iOS app he designed. “We keep it updated with the reference points and recommended uses of all types of OTC meds, along with price-saving options many patients are simply unaware of. We wanted to empower people more when it comes to their own medicine purchases.”
In an April 4 article, USA Today reported on the “OTC drugs that you should buy generic”, overviewing the most effective cost-saving generic options that patients should be utilizing. Dr. Grewal says his app is also positioned to help consumers better understand the generics currently available.
“The OTC app quickly lets you find whether a generic is available from your needs, along with the all important stats, active ingredients and recommended dosages at the same time,” he explains.
As an internal medicine specialist practicing in both Carolinas, Dr. Grewal says he has long witnessed the confusion patients can encounter when visiting their pharmacies.
“That’s what is so great about mobile tech,” he says. “A Smartphone can put all of this in the palm of your hand and in the blink of an eye. People often forget some of what their doctors tell them during examinations, so it’s a great safeguard to have in place to keep patients on the right path.”
The OTC app is available at itune and google play.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/04/04/cheat-sheet-otc-drugs/70786210/
Sandeep Grewal, Ace Innovation Group, http://www.nearzone.org, +1 (803) 412-6008, [email protected]
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