According to federal health data, the number of monthly scripts issued for this drug increased six-fold in 2021 to over 86,000 in December. This is considered to be a response to approval as an obesity treatment overseas.
Ozempic is a Schedule 4 drug, a prescribed and restricted substance that cannot be publicly promoted according to the guidelines of the TGA Code.
This code exists to ensure that drug advertising only fulfills its social responsibilities and promotes quality use, and is not misleading or deceptive, but it has a broad definition of advertising. The TGA guidelines specify when commercial relationship influencers are promoting drugs for commercial relationships.
Hefernan said social media posts from unpaid influencers could miss diabetics’ access to medicines.
“On social media, drugs are becoming more popular … everyone [is] At the coffee shop, he said, “Wow, you have to take this medicine, I lost 5 kilos in two weeks.” “
Pamsak, a pharmacist at Bondi Pharmacy, said the number of people buying medicines first increased in December. Between February and April, the number of scripts doubled and tripled daily.
She is currently out of stock. “In terms of off-label prescribing, we have achieved tremendous results. They did not plan huge demand.”
She said she wrote an Ozenpic script for “old and young” people, which “use medicines to lose weight for health reasons as well as those trying to fit in a bikini. People who are. “
During the first six weeks of this year, one of the diabetic patients who did not have access to regular Ozempic scripts said they experienced dangerous hyperglycemia and bacterial infections during that time.
The Royal Australian General Pioneer Clinic generally recommends doctors to “pay attention” for off-label prescriptions, but Dr. Bruce Willett, vice president of RACGP, says “it needs to be done from time to time.”..
“The drug may do good research to support its use, but the company may not have a commercial interest in registering for its use,” he said. Patients experiencing chronic pain.
“The important thing to keep in mind with all weight loss medications is that they are not standalone solutions.”
Samantha Hocking, an endocrinologist and obesity expert at the Charles Perkins Center at the University of Sydney, said obese people need better access to drugs that help them lose weight.
“When people lose weight, there is a physiological response that stops your body from losing weight. Your hormones control changes in appetite,” she said. “Pharmaceutical therapy to maintain weight loss is important.”
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Hocking said she believes that the lower price of Ozenpic compared to the alternative weight loss drug Saxender, which is not listed on PBS, is probably the reason GP chose to prescribe it. ..
“People don’t get it from TikTok or black market pharmacies. Someone decides that this person needs medicine to lose weight and is ready to prescribe off-label use. “She said.
“Social media is part of the popularity, but there are probably many others who are prescribed this drug because they struggle to lose weight.”
A spokesperson for the Australian Pharmaceutical Association said he had “anecdotally” heard that inventories were gradually returning to manageable levels, but people with type 2 diabetes had difficulty accessing the drug. I advised him to deliver his prescription to one pharmacy as soon as he was at work. Through the waiting list.
“Calling multiple pharmacies with an inventory inquiry is unlikely to succeed and can put pressure on the supply chain,” they said.
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