Switching drugs from prescription-only to over-the-counter availability: economic benefits in the United Kingdom.

Recent years have seen suggestions that legislation restricting certain drugs to prescription-only availability should be relaxed. This paper estimates the economic benefits of such changes, with specific reference to two drugs recently switched in the United Kingdom: Ioperamide and 1% topical hydrocortisone. The findings suggest that making these products available from the pharmacy without a prescription has resulted in substantial benefits by reducing costs to consumers and saving general practitioners' time. In view of these benefits, the disadvantages of such changes should be evaluated.