Results of a National Survey on OTC Medicines, Part 2: Do Pharmacists Support Switching Prescription Agents to Over-the-Counter Status?

Abstract

Switching prescribed medications to over- or behind-the-counter status is considered an option to improve accessibility to treatment while insuring appropriate and safe use. For example, in the UK, omeprazole and simvastatin have already been granted over-the-counter (OTC) status, while omeprazole has nonprescription status in the USA. KEY POINTS Pharmacists in Canada do not support the deregulation of simvastatin or omeprazole and only moderately support an OTC switch for fluticasone. The complexity of disease and drug management was listed as the main barrier to OTC switch. Additional training was perceived as a facilitator of OTC switch. Other issues included access to laboratory test results, liability issues and loss of drug plan coverage POINTS CLES Les pharmaciens ne sont pas en faveur de la dereglementation de la simvastatine ou de l'omeprazole et ne sont que moderement en faveur de la mise en vente libre du fluticasone. La complexite de la maladie et de la prise en charge pharmaceutique a ete citee comme principal motif d'opposition a la mise en vente libre. On estime qu'une formation supplementaire serait necessaire pour faciliter le reclassement du produit parmi les medicaments en vente libre. Parmi les autres questions soulevees, mentionnons l'acces aux resultats d'analyses de laboratoire, les questions de responsabilite et le retrait du regime d'assurance-medicaments. In Canada, switching prescribed medications to OTC status (Schedule II) can have major implications for pharmacists. The level of care required to ensure safe selection and use may be quite significant. To date, few reports in Canada have dealt with pharmacists' readiness to expand practice in this area. Indeed, some concern has been expressed over the ability of pharmacists to engage in more patient assessment.1 In this paper, we explore pharmacists' readiness for switching simvastatin, omeprazole and fluticasone to Schedule II status. We also identify the barriers and facilitators for such a switch.