Selling evidence over the counter: Do community pharmacists engage with evidence-based medicine?

Abstract

Community pharmacy has been recently criticised for selling products which do not have a rational or robust evidence base. Available evidence suggests that pharmacists understand and are willing to embrace the concepts of evidence-based medicine (EBM), but it is not often utilised in the community pharmacy setting. Community pharmacists appear to rely more on consumer feedback and personal experience than clinical trial evidence when making over-the-counter recommendations, a practice at odds with the principles of EBM. Limiting factors for the uptake of EBM include a lack of resources and time, as well as a lack of skills in appraising scientific papers. Solutions may include improving pharmacists' awareness of existing EBM information resources, improving critical appraising training, and providing information tailored to the community pharmacy environment.