The Health Ministry launched a new mobile application on Sunday that aims to educate the public on over-the-counter drugs. The "Medicine To Go" app enables users to search for a specific nonprescription drug according to its name or their symptoms, and learn its recommended price, potential side effects and the proper way it should be taken. Users can also read an online version of the package insert. Users can also find out the information by scanning the relevant QR code on a drug's package. "We developed this application with the goal of keeping the people better informed on what is available," Health Ministry Pharmaceutical Division head Eyal Schwartzberg said Sunday. "There are a lot of over-the-counter drugs, and the world is changing. This is why making this information accessible in real time is the right thing to do." Schwartzberg cautioned that "the app is no substitute for a physician or a pharmacist; it is only there to help patients get information better." Over-the-counter drugs account for about 20% of the drugs listed in the ministry's registry of approved medicines. In 2015, sales of such drugs amounted to some $200 million, and made up 27% of all medication sales.
Health Ministry app to educate public on over-the-counter drugs
"Medicine To Go" mobile application allows users to search for nonprescription medicines based on symptoms, read information on price, proper usage, possible side effects • Ministry official: We want to educate people, but app does not replace doctors.
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