About a month ago the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Attorney General’s Office expressed concern about the dispensing of prescription strength products from a physicians’ offices across Texas. A doctor can write the actual prescriptions for a patient to purchase from a pharmacy, but they doctor’s office can’t offer it or sell it in their office. Obviously, this has nothing to do with the safety of medical care, but rather is an effort by the pharmacists to control sales revenue. However, this effects convenience and the continuity of care we like to give our patients. Several of my products from, Obagi, Skin Medica, and Neocutis had to be pulled from our shelves. The products involved are Retin A or the generic is Tretinoin, and all products with 4% hydroquinone, like Obagi's Clear and Blender, Skin Medica's Epiquin Micro, and Neocutis' Blanche.
I am also bothered by the inconsistency the pharmacy products will have. This is mainly the generic hydroquinones . as opposed to branded products which are consistent in quality, generics differ in texture and weight. I like to be able to hand select a specific product for a patient. I may be able to prescribe a strength, but won’t always know if it is in a heavy cream or possibly runny? The Obagi people are working at getting this reversed, but I have not heard anything yet.
Due to these changes, I have been aggressively working with Dr. Barton and have added some different products to my office. Two lines, Vivite and Neocutis have excellent skin brighteners and lighteners. We feel these lighteners will give comparable results to hydroquinione. This is exciting and I think everyone may benefit with some change. I will fill you in the details of the new products soon!
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