Preliminary Study on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Selling Over-the-Counter Oral Medicines by Pharmacy Workers in Colombo District

Abstract

Over-the-counter is also known as non-prescription medicine. Although, OTC can be bought without a prescription, self-medication and overusing the medications can cause many side effects. Hence, responsible selling of drugs with recommendations on proper and safe use is a key role of pharmacists and other pharmacy workers. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices of selling orally administered OTC medicines by pharmacy workers in the Colombo district. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed among pharmacy workers in the Colombo district, including pharmacists and non-pharmacists using a structured questionnaire. The ethical clearance was obtained from Ethics Review Committee, CINEC Campus. Out of 100 participants, 45 were males and 55 were females. As a percentage, 15% were pharmacists, 37% were assistant pharmacists and 48% were supporting workers in the pharmacy. Although Paracetamol is an OTC drug that is commonly sold in pharmacies, only 42% of the participants know the maximum adult daily dose as four g/day. The remaining 58% were not aware of the correct daily adult dose for Paracetamol and among those 13.79% were pharmacists. Further, 86% of the participants were aware that generally antacids should be taken 30 minutes before the meal to get effective action and 14% were unaware. Out of this, 14.28%, 35.71% and 50% are pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and other support staff respectively. Although antibiotics are not OTC medicine, 17% disagreed with the statement that “Antibiotics should not dispense for the common cold on patient demands”. Among the participants, 47% believe pharmacists are only responsible for dispensing and counselling patients on the drug prescribed by physicians. Although 44 % of participants never issued non-OTC medicine without a prescription, 48% have issued prescription-only drugs without a prescription occasionally, while 8% have issued non-OTC medicine without a prescription. According to the results, some workers were still unaware of the correct information regarding the OTC. It is concluded that some of the healthcare workers at pharmacies require further knowledge of OTC oral medicines.