Pharmacists as Nonprescription Drug Advisors: This study found that although pharmacists are counseling on OTC products, some are failing to warn patients of contraindications.

Abstract

This field study tested the ability of pharmacists to counsel patients with diabetes mellitus on the contraindicated use of a decongestant. The study was modeled after a 1969 study conducted by Knapp et al. Our simulation used a patient with diabetes who questioned pharmacists initially about proper insulin storage and then asked about the use of Contac (phenylpropanolamine) capsules, which carry a prominent label warning against use by diabetic patients. A research assistant, posing as the patient, interviewed pharmacists at 36 community pharmacies in a midwestern metropolitan area. Eleven of the pharmacists (30.5%) failed to warn the patient about the contraindication, compared with 83% in the earlier study.