Insufficiency of OTC Drug Information ; A Pilot Study with Pharmacists

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  • OTC医薬品の情報提供における課題抽出に関するパイロットスタディ
  • OTC イヤクヒン ノ ジョウホウ テイキョウ ニ オケル カダイ チュウシュツ ニ カンスル パイロットスタディ

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Abstract

<p>Providing adequate consultation by pharmacists for OTC medication is important for both, the effective use of the drugs and consumer safety. The main information source for patients using OTC drugs is frequently the package insert, currently, and little information source is available for health professional. The aim of this study was to evaluate pharmacists′attitudes and concerns towards OTC drug package inserts via a survey. A questionnaire survey regarding available OTC drugs′information was conducted with 60 pharmacists working in hospitals (30) and pharmacies (30). The survey consisted of the respondents′characteristics, experiences with OTC drugs and attitudes towards the amount of OTC drugs′information from a healthcare professional′s perspective. Twenty-nine hospital pharmacists and 30 community pharmacists responded. Sixty-nine percent of the hospital pharmacists and 50.0% of the community pharmacists thought the amount of information on the package inserts was “adequate”. While a third of each group cumulatively responded with “inadequate” and indicated the need for more information on the points such as drug interactions, pharmacokinetics, details of side effects, and contra-indications. Moreover, more than 50% of each of these groups responded with difficulty in obtaining more detailed information on OTC’s. The study revealed that while the information on the package inserts of OTC’s was adequate for most pharmacists, a significant number desired more detailed information on some points in the package to provide better guidance and healthcare advice to patients.</p>

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