Final answer:
Remote pharmacy practices, like Directly Observed Therapy, are designed to ensure patient adherence to medication regimens, particularly for treating serious conditions such as TB. The method faces practicality and financial challenges for broader antibiotic use and brings into question who should manage and fund such programs. Prescription benefits like Medicare have improved public health access, though not without critique regarding costs and economic impact.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of remote pharmacy practices, such as Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), is to ensure patients adhere to their medication regimen. This is particularly important for conditions like tuberculosis (TB), where skipping doses can lead to drug resistance and treatment failure. By observing patients take their medication, pharmacists and health care providers can guarantee the proper use of antibiotics and other treatments.
In the case of DOT, while effective, there are considerations regarding practicality and cost for widespread use, especially for less critical antibiotics like penicillin. The need for travel to a health-care facility for medication can be a barrier to patients, and the financial implications of such a system, including who would cover the costs, are significant concerns. Additionally, oversight to prevent overprescription of drugs is a complex issue, one that needs a concerted effort to identify the right governing body, implement enforcement strategies, and establish deterrents for non-compliance.
With the introduction of Medicare prescription benefits, there have been public health improvements, yet, these have also been met with criticism directed at the program's high cost and potential for contributing to drug prices inflation.