There are numerous off label medications used by healthcare providers but lack sufficient scientific evidence of their influence towards the condition/illness they are prescribed for. There are different strategies that can be incorporated towards enhancing the safety of off label drug use. The first strategy is inclusion of a more detailed Summary of Product Characteristics in all medications. All pharmaceutical companies involved in medication production should ensure efficacy tests on their products, effectiveness on adults and the behavior of their medication in terms of pharmacokinetics (Allen et al., 2018). The other strategy is conducting intensive research concerning off label drug use among children which will help in production of more effective medications for children, thus boosting their health. Research will further facilitate production of high quality medication as well as helping in the approval process by the FDA.
The use of off label drugs however does not necessarily imply that they are all unsafe for consumption. These drugs are greatly prescribed by many healthcare providers all over the world and hence the need for the parents to understand them before allowing their children to use. It is therefore the duty of a healthcare provider to inform the parent all the benefits and drawbacks of using any given off label drug for the parent to make informed decisions. Some of the major used off label drugs on pediatrics include antihistamines, antibiotics and antidepressants. For instance, most healthcare providers recommend the use of antihistamines in treatment of respiratory infections among children. Drugs such as cancer drugs and antidepressants used in treatment of chronic diseases are some of the off label drugs that require extra care and attention when used in children (Pratico et al., 2018). For example, Amoxicillin and morphine highly require extra attention when used as pain relievers in children. The use of a Summary of Product Characteristics should therefore be encouraged in these two medications to ensure that a proper measure of dosage is indicated.
In a recap, drugs being off label does not necessarily mean that they are dangerous. However, being off label puts the patients at risk of developing conditions that might be brought through taking a medication that does not match one’s illness. The healthcare providers should therefore always strive to make informed decisions before offering any off label medication to a patient. However different circumstances such as lack of any known medication to cure specific pediatric illnesses makes most healthcare providers to recommend off label drugs. Some of the strategies that can be made is to always encourage the use of a Summary of Product Characteristics in off label medications to facilitate the safety of these off label medications.
References
Allen, H. C., Garbe, M. C., Lees, J., Aziz, N., Chaaban, H., Miller, J. L., … & DeLeon, S. (2018).
Off-label medication use in children, more common than we think: a systematic review of
the literature. The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, 111(8), 776.
PMID: 31379392
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