US health care at it's best

[Hans]

I just figured out why the US needs Canadian medical personnel. They need their help to figure out what they are doing.

Every year, doctors write approximately 65 million prescriptions for drugs not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency that regulates prescription drugs.

Pharmacists would appear to be no better informed about the status of their drugs. A recent survey showed more than nine out of 10 retail pharmacists didn't know they could be dispensing drugs not yet approved by the FDA.

Despite knowing which drugs haven't been approved, the FDA refuses to release a full list to the public. Some common unapproved drugs include phenobarbital, an anti-convulsant, and chloral-hydrate, a sedative.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/condi...ugs/index.html

[DoubleXL]

Unfortunately, this is something that more then likely occurs in Canada as well. Mind you, Health Canada tends to take a bit more care when dealing with drugs. So who knows.