Wouldn't it make more sense to give RP's some prescriptive authority?

I just read this article from the Wall Street Journal detailing insurance companies wanting their plan participants to have an online consultation with a doctor rather than going to an office to be seen. By filling in the blanks on a form, the doctor will let you know within 24 hours what you should do. OMG - are you serious?

In what Atlanta-based RelayHealth calls a webVisit, patients answer detailed
written questions about their symptoms and a report is sent to the doctor. The
physician then responds within 24 hours through the site with follow-up
questions, a suggested treatment, a prescription or a request to see the patient
in person.

Wouldn't we as a health care system be better served by allowing the most accessible health care professionals (ahem, pharmacists) to treat minor ailments? If you have strep throat, do you really want to be told to fill out the form online and you'll hear back in 24 hrs? Why couldn't the RP have the precriptive authority to dispense some Pen VK and get the patient back to health? It would sure save everyone a lot of time and money. It irritates me that pharmacist advocate groups and associations have not been more proactive in legislative matters pointing out to insurance companies and lawmakers that pharmacists are knowledgeable and can be a resource for treatment of certain issues.

Keep this in mind as you complete your schooling and make a conscious effort to become involved and change the way things are done.

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124977187174117097.html?ru=yahoo#mod=yahoo_hs