According to the Reuters of June 19, British men will be able to buy Viagra directly on the high street – instead of having to go to their doctor – under a nationwide scheme launched on Friday by Alliance Boots, the country’s biggest pharmacy chain.

The start of the first pharmacy-led service for erection problems follows a successful pilot program in Manchester, England, and underscores the growth in amount of drugs direct sold to consumers – something that has been largely encouraged by the British government.

The significance of this move is that men will be able to get the prescription-only Viagra pills directly from pharmacists — but they must still register with a doctor and also agree for their doctors to be notified.

In addition, patients will be asked to fill out a pre-screening questionnaire before consulting with a pharmacist for approximately 30 minutes. The cost of the initial screening and supply of four tablets will be 55 pounds (i.e. $90.20), and then from 26.59 pounds per four tablets for subsequent supplies.

Alliance Boots believes there is a sizeable demand yet to be met for erectile dysfunction treatment. While erectile dysfunction is a common condition that affects one in 10 British men, it is estimated that only around 10 percent of such cases are presently being treated.

Erectile dysfunction can be an indicator for a more severe underlying medical condition and the Medical Director of Boots, Graham Marshall affirmed that pharmacists would be vigilant to any warning signs.

During the Manchester pilot, 288 patients were sent back to their doctors after tests carried out as part of the consultation showed abnormal cholesterol, blood pressure or glucose levels.

If Viagra tablets are a prescription only drug, why has Boots been given permission to sell over the counter?

The answer lies in the provision made by the Patient Group Direction scheme. Under the scheme, it is possible for professionals in the medical field – this includes trained pharmacists – to apply for permission to dispense some certain drugs.

However, this is not possible without the interested pharmacies interested in getting such permission getting an approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency and the Care Quality Commission, the regulatory body for the provision of medicines and healthcare.

Because Alliance Boots remains the only pharmacist to have been given such permission to sell the prescription-only Viagra pills so far, any pharmacy that wants to issue the diamond-shaped wonder drug without prescription must be able to back it up with appropriate health checks.

Until now, men had to see a consultant or a doctor to get the little blue pills under prescription.

The new arrangement would see patients, between the ages of 30 and 65, who are suffering from erectile dysfunction being able to walk into any Boots store and getting a bottle of 4 Viagra pills after a short consultation and screening test have been carried out by a pharmacist.

Viagra is the trademark drug of Pfizer, Inc., the biggest drug producing company in the world. Its chief constituent is sildenafil citrate, which is used to treat two symptoms: erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

As a treatment of PAH, sildenafil citrate is known under the brand name Revatio.

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