Non-prescription Drugs and Self-medication: Features and Subjects in Pharmaceutical Education.

ABSTRACT

At the time of consultation with a patient regarding OTC drugs, a pharmacist goes through the following five steps. In Step 1 information is collected, including the patient's gender, age, health condition, living situation, etc. In Step 2, upon analyzing and evaluating this collected information, the pharmacist decides whether to recommend that the patient see a medical doctor or whether an OTC drug is sufficient. In Step 3, when an OTC drug is required, the pharmacist suggests the most suitable OTC drug. In Step 4, the pharmacist provides the patient recommendations and information about the selected OTC. In Step 5, sales record entry and aftercare are performed. In these five steps, the pharmacist is making a decision on whether the consultation recommendation is required or optional; the step of making an optimal selection of an OTC drug is distinct from prescription dispensing. In many cases, at the time of OTC drug consultation, since the patient is not consulting a medical doctor, a pharmacist becomes a "first access" health professional. In this instance, the advice of a pharmacist may have a great influence on a patient's prognosis regarding the particular health challenge. Therefore, pharmacists who perform patient consultations regarding OTC drugs are required to have broad medical knowledge and communication skills. The features of consultation and information dissemination about OTC drugs by a pharmacist, and the practice and study of this subject in present-day pharmaceutical education, are described herein.