It's interesting to see that Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, wants to make its Mevacor cholesterol-lowering drug available as an over-the-counter drug, but that is precisely what is happening.

However, the FDA wonders if making the drug available to anyone who wants it will lead to many patients taking the drug who really do not need it.

It's hard to imagine folks without high cholesterol problems seeking our Mevacor at the local Wal-Mart, but of course this would happen in an age of "fix this" medicines and instant gratification health environments.

Case in point -- only 20 percent of potential patients interviewed by Merck answered all questions correctly when quizzed about proper usage of Mevacor.