In a sneaky move, the FDA has extended its power over how doctors can practice medicine. Action Alert!

Doctors, be advised: the FDA is starting to regulate the practice of medicine. Buried in the 4,155 page spending bill Congress recently approved is the innocuous-sounding “Bans of Devices for One or More Intended Uses.” This dangerous provision allows the FDA to ban off-label uses of medical devices while leaving them approved for other uses. This provision expands the FDA’s power to dictate what your doctor can and can’t do. Today, it’s medical devices, but the FDA could easily use this as a precedent to further expand its power to regulate the practice of medicine and enforce a one-size-fits-all vision of medicine.

Off-label use of medicines and medical devices is a critical component of medicine. One in five prescriptions written are for off-label use—that is, when a doctor gives you a medicine approved by the FDA to treat a condition different than yours.