The Standing of OTC Medicines in Community Practice

A special issue of Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2018) | Viewed by 16420

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C9, Canada
Interests: self-care; OTC medicines; pharmacist prescribing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Pharmacy is embarking on a Special Issue dedicated to matters pertaining to over-the-counter medicines. I invite you to consider whether you can contribute to this endeavour.

The scope will be broad, from epidemiologic data to drug regulations to pharmacist-assisted care to education/training. Included in that scope will be research-oriented information you possibly have ready for publication, but just as importantly, practical tips for pharmacists at the community pharmacy level. These latter approaches would be written in a style conducive to practitioners rather than researchers in the field.

While such calls in other journals tend to focus on original research papers, as is the case here, I encourage you to also consider insight papers, opinions, and reviews of topics that readers would find of interest. For example, examinations could take the angle of drug-related problems uncovered by pharmacists, OTC medicine misuse, ADR rates, dynamics of OTC medicine use, issues emanating from Rx-to-OTC switches, patient behaviour relevant to self-care/self-medication, the role of the pharmacist, to how students are trained in the area. Perspectives could include aspects of your own research, but taken to a broader level to reflect activities specific to your part of the world, such as The Status of Pharmacy Practice Activities Involving OTC Medicines in your country. 

Many thanks for considering this.  

Respectfully,

Prof. Dr. Jeff Taylor
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Non-prescription medicines / OTC medicines
  • Community pharmacy practice
  • Self-care
  • Self-medication
  • Pharmacist-assisted care
  • Consumer-pharmacist encounters
  • Safety of self-medication
  • Student training / education
  • Practice standards
  • Rx-to-OTC switch

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2763 KiB  
Article
Double-Dosing and Other Dangers with Non-Prescription Medicines: Pharmacists’ Views and Experiences
by Natalie Gauld and Tracey Sullivan
Pharmacy 2018, 6(3), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6030059 - 2 Jul 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5717
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to explore pharmacists’ views on reclassifications from pharmacy-only to general sales and their experiences with the supply of these medicines, in addition to pharmacists’ views on the reclassification of the shingles vaccine and sildenafil to be available [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper was to explore pharmacists’ views on reclassifications from pharmacy-only to general sales and their experiences with the supply of these medicines, in addition to pharmacists’ views on the reclassification of the shingles vaccine and sildenafil to be available through ‘accredited’ pharmacists. New Zealand community pharmacists were surveyed in 2013 with a written questionnaire of six Likert-style or open-ended questions sent to Pharmacy Guild member pharmacies. The analysis involved descriptive statistics. Responses were received from 246 pharmacies. Two thirds of pharmacists supported the reclassification of the shingles vaccine and sildenafil, although 14% disagreed with the sildenafil reclassification. Over 90% of pharmacists disagreed with the reclassification of paracetamol and ibuprofen liquids, omeprazole, naproxen, and oxymetazoline from pharmacy-only medicine to general sales. This opinion was strongest for omeprazole. With liquid paracetamol and ibuprofen, pharmacists described consumer confusion with dosing, and particularly potentially doubling-up on liquid analgesics/antipyretics including using both prescription and non-prescription variants. Many reported giving safety advice frequently. Anti-inflammatories and omeprazole were also subject to potential double-dosing, as well as requests by consumers with contraindications, precautions, and drug interactions, and for inappropriate indications. Pharmacists described various interventions, including some that were potentially life-saving. Pharmacy availability of medicines provides the potential for intervention that would not happen in a general sales environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Standing of OTC Medicines in Community Practice)
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16 pages, 421 KiB  
Article
Over-The-Counter (OTC) Drug Consumption among Adults Living in Germany: Results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008–2011 (DEGS1)
by Eva Barrenberg, Hildtraud Knopf and Edeltraut Garbe
Pharmacy 2018, 6(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6020052 - 7 Jun 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5087
Abstract
In order to assess the effects of prescription-only (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) drug switches and related policies, it is imperative to distinguish self-medication from OTC drug use. The objective of this study was to estimate the OTC drug use in the adult population [...] Read more.
In order to assess the effects of prescription-only (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) drug switches and related policies, it is imperative to distinguish self-medication from OTC drug use. The objective of this study was to estimate the OTC drug use in the adult population in Germany, to identify its predictors and to highlight methodological differences when compared to the study of a self-medication prevalence. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was calculated on the basis of information provided by 7091 participants of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1) conducted between 2008 to 2011. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of OTC drug use. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was higher in women (47.16%) than in men (33.17%). Female gender, an age of more than 60 years, reduced health status, Rx drug use, and multi-morbidity were identified as predictors of OTC drug use. The levels of OTC drug use were higher than the self-medication prevalence found in the same data set probably because some OTC drugs are commonly prescribed by physicians. Drug utilization studies should, therefore, make a methodological distinction between self-medication and OTC drug use depending on whether the focus is on drug safety or the impact of regulatory decisions on the trade status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Standing of OTC Medicines in Community Practice)
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Review

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13 pages, 219 KiB  
Review
The Effectiveness of Nonprescription Drug Labels in the United States: Insights from Recent Research and Opportunities for the Future
by Jesse R. Catlin and Eric P. Brass
Pharmacy 2018, 6(4), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6040119 - 26 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4747
Abstract
Despite providing a consistent and comprehensible format for over-the-counter (OTC) drug communication, research suggests important limitations in the communication effectiveness of the Drug Facts Label required on OTC drugs in the United States. This literature is reviewed and some of these critical limitations [...] Read more.
Despite providing a consistent and comprehensible format for over-the-counter (OTC) drug communication, research suggests important limitations in the communication effectiveness of the Drug Facts Label required on OTC drugs in the United States. This literature is reviewed and some of these critical limitations of the Drug Facts Label (DFL) highlighted. These include difficulty communicating complex information that requires integration of multiple pieces of label information and limited adaptability to serve the unique needs of individual populations (e.g., low literacy or older consumers). Potential ways to improve the DFL’s communication effectiveness are identified along with complementary opportunities to improve OTC drug communication by leveraging the role of pharmacists and use of adjunctive technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Standing of OTC Medicines in Community Practice)
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