PHARMACISTS should review patients' medications "far more often" than is currently the case - especially when the prescriptions are known to be highly addictive, Health Secretary Shona Robison said.
Ms Robison added that more had to be done to give patients the "confidence" to speak out if they believed they were becoming hooked on prescription drugs.
Speaking to the Herald, she said this week's Bitter Pill series had raised "important and sometimes hidden" issues around pharmaceutical addictions and the black market trade in over-the-controlled and controlled prescription drugs.
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Ms Robison said: "We need to work on people having the confidence to come forward and speak about their concerns, whether it's about over the counter products or prescribed medication. If a patient is concerned about that then it is absolutely critical that they speak to their GP or indeed a community pharmacist, because we are really expanding the role of the community pharmacist.
"We've funded a huge expansion of the community pharmacy links into the GP team, so pharmacists are now working alongside GPs in the management of medicines. It might be that issues are picked up there of someone having been on a particular medication for a long time which could be addictive.
"I think there is scope here and opportunity to review medications far more often. That may well be with casting an eye over the potential of whether or not if the patient is on particular medications known for being potentially addictive.
"I think there is scope through that new model of working to do more of that."
Ms Robison said she was also keen to raise awareness among the public over the potential risks of buying medications online pharmacies which may be based abroad and exempt from UK regulation, as well as the boom in sales of everything from Viagra and diet pills to acre creams through social media sites such as Facebook.
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She said: "I meet with the General Medical Council regularly and I had flagged that [online pharmacies] as an issue with both the GMC and General Pharmaceutical Council to ask them what they are doing around this, which is a growing area. Obviously they will only be able to deal with whatever is within their sphere of influence. If someone is buying from somewhere overseas without any regulation, that's more problematic. But that is where the public messaging comes in about how unsafe that is.
"There are some [online pharmacies] that are based overseas - the internet is a black hole in that area. It's vital that patients are assured of the safety and efficacy of medicines because there is a concern about what may be in medicines that are procured from outwith that regulated framework.
"Clearly the message to the public would be that there are huge risks associated with buying from unknown sources and those that are no regulated by the GPC. I think that's where we need to get some public messaging out about those risks. If there is more we can do in that domain then I would certainly be keen.
"We've also provided evidence to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Inquiry on what they've described as 'diversion and the illicit supply of medicines'. The results of that were published in December last year and we have committed to working with the UK Government and others to really progress the recommendations contained in that report.
"That spans justice and it spans health and really that is looking at what measures could be taken to tackle that issue. We are now working on what actions could be taken. It will involve the police, it will involve health, but it will be taken forward on a UK-wide basis."
The series had also raised concerns among some frontline professionals about the rising numbers of children being prescribed - at increasingly younger ages - drugs such as Ritalin to control Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children with the condition struggle to concentrate, making classroom learning difficult. Drugs such as Ritalin aid their ability to focus.
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However, some psychiatrists believe the condition is now being over-diagnosed and children over-medicated as a result, arguing that more structured routines could be equally effective in reducing or even reversing the symptoms.
However, Ms Robison stressed that the majority of youngsters with ADHD are not on drug therapy and cautioned against anything which would give rise to stigma.
She said: "The majority of young people with ADHD are not receiving medication as part of their treatment but are instead receiving alternative support.
"But for those where that is clinically appropriate, and these decisions are clinically driven, then medication can have an important role to play. Daniel Johnson [Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern who has ADHD] was very open and honest in the chamber, saying that actually medication had been hugely important for him. He was worried that so much work had gone on to reduce the stigma, we don't want to reverse that.
"There's so much more awareness of ADHD, and that drives people to seek help which is what we want.
"Medication is not the only solution. But no one should be dissuaded from coming forward and where appropriate medication has a role to play."
She added that the Scottish Government was also looking at expanding school counselling to every school in Scotland and stressed that the range of mental health services beneath the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) were "all important in being able to support children and young people in ways that are nothing to do with medication."
She Scottish Government has previously been criticised about "patchy" provision of school counselling compared to other parts of the UK. Counselling services have been guaranteed in all secondary schools in Wales and Northern Ireland for a decade.
Referring to the 'Bitter Pill' series, Ms Robison said: "This series of articles has raised a number of really important issues. It's got people talking. It's brought out issues that are sometimes a bit hidden. The more we can have these discussions in an open fashion the better. Out of this, I would like people to feel more able to talk about their concerns, to go to their GP and raise any concerns they have about their medication."
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