Medication
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease.[1][2] Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management.
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, Pharmacy, pharmacology, pharmaceutical industry, medication (disambiguation), meds (disambiguation), and medicine (disambiguation).Medication
Medicine, drug, pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical preparation, pharmaceutical product, medicinal product, medicament, remedy
Drugs are classified in many ways. One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves). Another key distinction is between traditional small molecule drugs, usually derived from chemical synthesis, and biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies and cell therapy (for instance, stem cell therapies). Other ways to classify medicines are by mode of action, route of administration, biological system affected, or therapeutic effects. An elaborate and widely used classification system is the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. The World Health Organization keeps a list of essential medicines.
Drug discovery and drug development are complex and expensive endeavors undertaken by pharmaceutical companies, academic scientists, and governments. As a result of this complex path from discovery to commercialization, partnering has become a standard practice for advancing drug candidates through development pipelines. Governments generally regulate what drugs can be marketed, how drugs are marketed, and in some jurisdictions, drug pricing. Controversies have arisen over drug pricing and disposal of used drugs.
Medication is a medicine or a chemical compound used to treat or cure illness. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, medication is "a substance used in treating a disease or relieving pain".[3]
As defined by the National Cancer Institute, dosage forms of medication can include tablets, capsules, liquids, creams, and patches. Medications can be given in different ways, such as by mouth, by infusion into a vein, or by drops put into the ear or eye. A medication that does not contain an active ingredient and is used in research studies is called a placebo.[4]
In Europe, the term is "medicinal product", and it is defined by EU law as:
In the US, a "drug" is:
Usage[edit]
Drug use among elderly Americans has been studied; in a group of 2377 people with an average age of 71 surveyed between 2005 and 2006, 84% took at least one prescription drug, 44% took at least one over-the-counter (OTC) drug, and 52% took at least one dietary supplement; in a group of 2245 elderly Americans (average age of 71) surveyed over the period 2010 – 2011, those percentages were 88%, 38%, and 64%.[7]