Final answer:
A standing prescription is a pre-authorized medication order that can be filled repeatedly without a new prescription for each refill. In specialized practices, it could be used to tailor specific treatment regimens to improve adherence and reduce costs. Directly observed therapy (DOT) is one such strategy to enforce treatment adherence and combat overprescription by observing patients take their medication.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term standing prescription refers to a pre-authorized prescription for a medication that may be filled at recurring intervals or when certain conditions are met, without the need for a patient to obtain a new prescription each time. In a specialized practice, this could mean a set prescription strategy that's tailored to the specific needs of a patient population, aiming to increase treatment adherence and reduce costs associated with the overuse of expensive resources.
One example of a strategy akin to standing prescription in action is directly observed therapy (DOT), a method primarily used in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). DOT requires patients to take their medication under the supervision of a healthcare professional, to ensure adherence to the treatment regimen. This approach has been instrumental in the global strategy to combat TB, though questions remain about its practicality for other conditions and medications, such as antibiotics like penicillin.
Critical discussions surround the strategies to ensure adherence to treatments and address the issue of overprescription. Such discussions include debating who should regulate physicians or pharmaceutical companies, the potential entities that can hold them accountable, and the efficacy of possible penalties to discourage overprescription and promote best practices in medicine.