Soon men will no longer have to face the embarrassment of visiting their GP to obtain the erectile boosting drug Viagra. Lloydspharmacy are dubbing this new venture the first creditable partnership between a pharmacy and a health website.
Lloyds and health website Dr Thom have joined forces to offer the drug to men who complete an online in depth sexaul health questionnaire. Questions asked will include, weight, height, age, blood pressure as well as details of current medications being taken. Patients will also answer questions on their sexual desire, how often they get an erection and how long they have been experiencing impotence problems.
A doctor from the Dr Thom website will make a decision whether to issue a prescription, based on the results from the questionnaire. The prescription will be issued in electronic form and be forwarded to Lloydspharmacy. The pharmacy will then send the medication to the patient’s home. What could be simpler?
The drugs to be included in the service are the erectile dysfunctioning medications Viagra, Livitra and Cialis. These drugs work by allowing more blood to flow into the penis when a man becomes sexually aroused.
The service is not free however, as patients will be charged £45 per four tablets. These will be offered on a trial basis of eight tablets at a time. If patients feel the course is working for them, they will be given the option of ongoing treatment, allowing them to order 16 tablets at a time. It is anticipated that in the coming months, patients will be able to be offered a trial pack of all three drugs, to determine what works best for them.
In addition to this service, patients will also be able to access online support from a GP. This will involve monitoring of the efficiency of the drug on the patient in addition to GP’s answering any worries or concerns the patient may have.
The thinking behind the service is to tackle the overwhelming fake viagra drugs that are being offered from abroad. Andy Murdock, Lloydspharmacy director says,
“We hope this new service will give men the confidence to use the internet for erectile dysfunction treatments, safe in the knowledge that they will be receiving genuine drugs from a reliable source. Many men turn to the internet for erectile dysfunction medication. Unfortunately, most online sources are unregulated and patients risk receiving fake medicines which contain little, if any, of the active ingredient. In some cases the medicines contain harmful substances which can cause health problems. Moreover, some erectile dysfunction drugs lower blood pressure so if they are dispensed to patients whose blood pressure is already low it could be very dangerous. Our service will eliminate this risk.”
The NHS does not offer Viagra treatment to all men who cope with erectile dsyfunction. In fact, research suggests that only half of those who suffer are actually receiving treatment. It is hoped this service will greatly decrease the amount of men who are suffering without treatment.
Known side effects of the drugs are fluctuations in blood pressure, indigestion and headaches.
1 Comment
Soon men will no longer have to face the embarrassment of visiting their GP to obtain the erectile boosting drug Viagra. Lloydspharmacy are dubbing this new venture the first creditable partnership between a pharmacy and a health website.
Lloyds and health website Dr Thom have joined forces to offer the drug to men who complete an online in depth sexaul health questionnaire. Questions asked will include, weight, height, age, blood pressure as well as details of current medications being taken. Patients will also answer questions on their sexual desire, how often they get an erection and how long they have been experiencing impotence problems.
A doctor from the Dr Thom website will make a decision whether to issue a prescription, based on the results from the questionnaire. The prescription will be issued in electronic form and be forwarded to Lloydspharmacy. The pharmacy will then send the medication to the patient’s home. What could be simpler?
The drugs to be included in the service are the erectile dysfunctioning medications Viagra, Livitra and Cialis. These drugs work by allowing more blood to flow into the penis when a man becomes sexually aroused.
The service is not free however, as patients will be charged £45 per four tablets. These will be offered on a trial basis of eight tablets at a time. If patients feel the course is working for them, they will be given the option of ongoing treatment, allowing them to order 16 tablets at a time. It is anticipated that in the coming months, patients will be able to be offered a trial pack of all three drugs, to determine what works best for them.
In addition to this service, patients will also be able to access online support from a GP. This will involve monitoring of the efficiency of the drug on the patient in addition to GP’s answering any worries or concerns the patient may have.
The thinking behind the service is to tackle the overwhelming fake viagra drugs that are being offered from abroad. Andy Murdock, Lloydspharmacy director says,
“We hope this new service will give men the confidence to use the internet for erectile dysfunction treatments, safe in the knowledge that they will be receiving genuine drugs from a reliable source. Many men turn to the internet for erectile dysfunction medication. Unfortunately, most online sources are unregulated and patients risk receiving fake medicines which contain little, if any, of the active ingredient. In some cases the medicines contain harmful substances which can cause health problems. Moreover, some erectile dysfunction drugs lower blood pressure so if they are dispensed to patients whose blood pressure is already low it could be very dangerous. Our service will eliminate this risk.”
The NHS does not offer Viagra treatment to all men who cope with erectile dsyfunction. In fact, research suggests that only half of those who suffer are actually receiving treatment. It is hoped this service will greatly decrease the amount of men who are suffering without treatment.
Known side effects of the drugs are fluctuations in blood pressure, indigestion and headaches.