The FDA's federal advisory panels voted 20-17 to ban Vicodin and Percocet, Not a Bad Thing

July 08, 2009 Andrew Abramson, a Staff Writer for the Palm Beach Post said, "last month, the FDA's federal advisory panel voted 20-17 to ban Vicodin and Percocet, drugs that combine hydrocodone and oxycodone with acetaminophen. An overdose of acetaminophen can cause liver damage or even death". This is not a bad thing, to many doctors prescribe Schedule III drugs like Vicodin and Percocet, when they should be prescribing a Schedule II drug like Morphine. In the past my doctors have prescribed so much Vicodin or Percocet, that the pharmacy refused to fill the prescription. Not because of the hydrocodone or oxycodone, but because of the acetaminophen. Truth is, it's safer to the doctor, not the patient, to prescribe a Schedule II drug, because DEA and state medical boards don't watch Schedule III drugs like they do Schedule III. This change doesn't effect hydrocodone or oxycodone, it effects acetaminophen. Hydrocodone or oxycodone will both still be available, just not as a combination drug. I don't think the change is bad, in fact I feel it will force doctors to treat pain more effectively. Risk vs. Benefits: Medication has always been judged by the risk of side effects and complications, verses the benefits to the patient. Some how things have been turned around today, medications are judged by the risk of arrest for the doctor, verses the benefits of less pain for the patient. In the current system, the patient is most often the loser.