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Article: Useful OTC drug labels. (over-the-counter drug labeling for prevention of medication errors)
- Article from:
- Newsletter-People's Medical Society
- Article date:
- August 1, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 People's Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A lot of attention has been focused recently on prescription drug errors. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is turning its attention to problems that accompany the use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications.
And not a moment too soon; the OTC drug market is big business. There are currently about 100,000 OTC drug products available nationwide. Consumers self-treat four times as many health conditions as they seek treatment for with their doctors. And 60 to 95 percent of all illnesses are initially treated at home, often including the use of OTC drugs.
With that in mind, the FDA has proposed new OTC drug labeling rules designed to ...