The U.S Food and Drug Administration gave its nod to isotretinoin (Accutane, Hoffmann-La Roche) as an oral prescription medication for treating severe acne in 1982. Since then, acne specialists have learned a lot about how to best use this drug.
Shanna M. Miranti, MPAS, PA-C, a board-certified physician assistant at Riverchase Dermatology in Naples, FL, updates viewers on new monitoring protocols for patients taking isotretinoin, the drug’s side effect profile and potential for teratogenicity, and the isotretinoin brands that are currently available for acne patients.
Nowadays patients don’t have to see their obstetrician/gynecologist to receive a prescription for birth control. They may get birth control over the Internet, and there is also a form that is available over-the-counter. “It’s up to us to make sure that our patients are on adequate forms of birth control, and that [we]are getting the documentation to support that they will be compliant with these medications.”
