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Here's one on Metformin. I always had excellent glucose control and A1C, but the past few years I came to find that while A1C was still good my fasting glucose crept up to 100. Not horrible but not good. Along with this I wanted Metformin for it's additional benefits, so it was a no brainer to go on it (the first medication in my life, ever). I didn't want to try and buy overseas. For one that's expensive for a drug that costs pennies, and the bother the under counter nature of it. Best was to get a prescription and get it locally.
I started with a MD who specializes in aging, he had no problem prescribing it given my numbers. But he costs $160/6 months to renew the prescription, and was problematic in other ways. So what I did was on my next visit to my GP they ask if anything has changed, so I mentioned the Metformin. Now it's in my chart, but not 'officially' since it didn't come from a MD or RN. At my yearly physical I came armed with a spread sheet showing my fasting glucose, and also was prepared with why it wasn't showing up on my lab tests (I think my regular labs were more normal because I get up early, and by the time I get in to the lab in the morning it's started to go down). But anyhow having a script already written by another physician, and my data, and the fact that I had diabetes in the family, and that I was doing really well on Metformin (I don't have reactions to meals like I used to) and finally that I wanted excellent health and better numbers, not just diabetes avoidance, was enough, she was happy enough to prescribe it.
So my health plan pays for it 100%, I just use my medical portal web page to order refills every 8 months or so, and my insurance keeps telling me they will happily send me refills in the mail. Probably because they can get it cheaper, and they want to make sure I don't get diabetes (the drug is really inexpensive insurance). But we like going local and my wife is happy to pick it up.
So overall successful, the system works the way it's supposed to, but you just have to use it properly to get the results you need. For anybody over 50 it should be not difficult to get it conventionally, because few older folks have perfect glucose control. In my case I suspect it was due to hormone issues which will cause a rise in fasting glucose (or maybe just family history).