Categories Of Drug-related Problems Research Articles

Financial impact of medication reviews by clinical pharmacists to reduce in-hospital adverse drug events: a return-on-investment analysis

BackgroundAdverse drug events contribute to rising health care costs. Clinical pharmacists can reduce their risks by identifying and solving drug-related problems (DRPs) through medication review.AimTo develop an economic model to determine whether medication reviews performed by clinical pharmacists could lead to a reduction in health care costs associated with the prevention of potential adverse drug events.MethodTwo pharmacists performed medication reviews during ward rounds in an internal medicine setting over one year. Avoided costs were estimated by monetizing five categories of DRPs (improper drug selection, drug interactions, untreated indications, inadequate dosages, and drug use without an indication). An expert panel assessed potential adverse drug events and their probabilities of occurrence for 20 randomly selected DRPs in each category. The costs of adverse drug events were extracted from internal hospital financial data. A partial economic study from a hospital perspective then estimated the annual costs avoided by resolving DRPs identified by 3 part-time clinical pharmacists (0.9 full-time equivalent) from 2019 to 2020. The return on investment (ROI) of medication review was calculated.ResultsThe estimated annual avoided costs associated with the potential adverse drug events induced by 676 DRPs detected was € 304,170. The cost of a 0.9 full-time equivalent clinical pharmacist was € 112,408. Extrapolated to 1 full-time equivalent, the annual net savings was € 213,069 or an ROI of 1–1.71. Sensitivity analyses showed that the economic model was robust.ConclusionThis economic model revealed the positive financial impact and favorable return on investment of a medication review intervention performed by clinical pharmacists. These findings should encourage the future deployment of a pharmacist-led adverse drug events prevention program.

Identifikasi Drug Related Problems (DRPs) pasien diabetes mellitus tipe 2 yang terkonfirmasi Covid-19

Drug Related Problems (DRPs) are events or circumstances related to drug therapy that actually or have the potential to interfere with the desired therapeutic outcome. This study aims to identify the incidence of DRPs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are confirmed to have Covid-19. This research is a type of observational research with a cross sectional design. Data collection was carried out retrospectively by tracing patient medical record data. The number of patients who met the researcher’s inclusion criteria was 125 patients and on average each patient had DRPs. The categories of DRPs that occurred were indications without drugs for 57 patients (45,6%), drugs without indications for 11 patients (8,8%), inappropriate drug selection for 45 patients (36%), inadequate doses for 28 patients (22,4%), overdosage in 46 patients (36,8%), and drug interactions in 88 patients (70,4%)

Implementing Transitions of Care Services in a Primary Care Clinic: Role of the Pharmacist

Introduction Pharmacists in primary care clinics improve medication adherence and reduce medication errors but these require further investigation to determine its potential impact on health care readmission rates. Methods: This review assessed the addition of a clinical pharmacist to the primary care provider’s transitions of care appointment. The primary outcome of this review was the change in acute health care encounters (hospital readmissions and/or Emergency Department visits) in the 6-month period before to the 6 months following initial clinical pharmacist intervention. Each patient served as their own control. Secondary outcomes included the number and types of pharmacist interventions, percentage of pharmacist recommendations accepted, number and categories of drug-related problems (DRPs), nonadherence reasons, 30-day hospital readmission rate, 30-day Emergency Department (ED) rate, time to first hospital readmission, time to first ED readmission, and preventable readmission rate. Results: The total number of combined acute health care encounters in 6 months decreased by 15% from 280 at baseline to 238 after pharmacist intervention (P = .087) for the 206 patients included in the final analysis. The 30-day hospital readmission rate was 9.7% and the median time between first hospital readmission was 54.5 days (IQR 63.5). We identified a total number of 310 DRPs with a mean of 1.5 DRPs (SD 1.3) identified per patient. The providers accepted 88% of the pharmacists’ recommendations. Conclusions: Clinical pharmacists embedded in a primary care setting demonstrated improved patient care during transitions of care by identifying and resolving drug-related problems, with a trend in decreasing acute health care utilization.

Prevalence and predictors of drug-related hospitalisation among patients visiting emergency departments of Addis Ababa city hospitals in Ethiopia: a multicentre prospective observational study

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the prevalence, categories and predictors of drug-related hospitalisation (DRH) among patients visiting emergency departments of Addis Ababa city hospitals, Ethiopia.DesignA multicentre prospective observational study was...

ANALISIS DRUG RELATED PROBLEMS (DRPs) PADA PASIEN RAWAT JALAN DIABETES MELITUS TIPE 2 DI UPT PUSKESMAS RAWAT INAP GEDONG AIR BANDAR LAMPUNG

Abtract Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious chronic disease that occurs because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when insulin is not use effectively in the body. This study aims to analyze the incidence of Drug Related Problems (DRPs) and find out the category of DRPs in outpatients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus at UPT Puskesmas Gedong Air Inpatient for the Bandar Lampung. This research is a nonexperimental research with a descriptive design taken retrospectively. The sampling technique used in this study is total sampling based on the patient's medical record data. Data were analyzed using the classification of DRPs according to Cipolle 2004, then using Medscape Tools as a tool to check potential drug interactions. The results of this study were 61 patients including 29 patients (46%) with DRPs and 33 patients (54%) without DRPs. The number of male patients is 25 patients and the number of female patients is 36 patients with age range 25-45 and 46-65. A total 52 patien Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus have cormobid and 9 patients without comorbid. DRP categories that occur include drugs without indication as much (8%), indications without drugs as much as (15%), and potential drug interactions (48%). The conclusion in this study is that Drug Related Problems (DRPs) have occurred in outpatients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus in UPT Puskesmas Gedong Air Inpatient with the highest DRPs category is the potential for drug interactions (48%). Key words: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, Drug Related Problems

Community Pharmacist Telephonic Medication Reviews with Uncontrolled Asthma Patients: A Pilot Study.

This study reports the process of telephonic medication reviews conducted by community pharmacists for patients with asthma. The study occurred at an independent community chain in association with a Missouri Medicaid consulting group. Participants were identified utilizing claims data and met the National Quality Forum criteria for uncontrolled moderate-to-severe persistent asthma. A pharmacist performed the initial encounter via telephone which included a knowledge questionnaire, symptom control assessment, and medication review. Pharmacists identified drug-related problems (DRPs) and faxed recommendations to patients’ primary care providers (PCPs). Thirty days later, pharmacists called to follow up with the patients and faxed PCPs to resolve any outstanding DRPs, new DRPs, or recommendations. Questionnaire scores and symptom control assessments were compared and analyzed utilizing a paired t-test, Chi-squared test, or Fisher’s exact test. The number and categories of DRPs, recommendations made by pharmacists, and intervention time were reported. Fourteen participants completed initial encounters with twelve completing follow-up. The majority answered ‘yes’ to at least one symptom control assessment question indicating partially controlled to uncontrolled asthma. The average knowledge assessment score was 5.17 out of 7 initially and 5.42 for the follow-up. Pharmacists identified 43 DRPs and made 41 recommendations with a mean intervention time of 65 min.

Hubungan Polifarmasi dan Potensi Interaksi Obat Ranitidin Pasen Rawat Inap di RSUD Ir. Soekarno Sukoharjo

Drug interactions are one of eight categories of drug related problems that can affect a patient's clinical outcome, with the increasing complexity of drugs used in current treatment and the likelihood of polypharmacy practices, the possibility of drug interactions is greater. Results of preliminary studies conducted at RSUD Ir.Soekarno Sukoharjo, in 2019 there were 11,432 cases of hospitalized patients, with the number of adult patients (According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, 2009 people aged 26-45 years) as many as 2,044 people. The number of cases is known to many ranitidine preparations given to adult patients hospitalized.The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between polypharmacy and the potential interactions of ranitidine drugs in inpatients at RSUD Ir. Soekarno Sukoharjo.The type of research used in this study was non-experimental analytic descriptive using a retrospective study design. The study population was all inpatient prescription sheets at Ir.Soekarno Sukoharjo Regional Hospital in the October - December 2019 period that received ranitidine preparations. The sampling technique in this study uses simple random sampling. The research variables are polypharmacy and potential interactions of ranitidine drugs. The research instrument is a checklist and drugs.com application. Data analysis using the Chi-Square test method. There was no relationship between polypharmacy and the potential interactions of ranitidine drugs in inpatients at RSUD Ir. Soekarno Sukoharjo with a value of p = 0,568 and r = 0,68.

Rates and correlates of pharmacotherapy-related problems among psychiatric inpatients: a representative Danish study.

Background:Drug related problems (DRPs) occur frequently among psychiatric patients due to common prescribing errors and complex treatment schedules. Clinical pharmacists (CPs) are thought to play an important role in preventing DRPs and, consequently, to increasing the quality of inpatient care. There is, however, limited information available on DRPs within the psychiatric field in Denmark. The aim of this study was to identify rates and correlates of pharmacotherapy-related problems among psychiatric inpatients in a Danish psychiatric hospital.Methods:A retrospective descriptive study was conducted by two CPs and data were obtained from the medical records available in two psychiatric wards. Chart-reviews were conducted for the period of June 2015 to February 2017. The analyses focussed on the prevalence of DRP categories, implementation and acceptance rates, and drugs associated with the DRPs. Extracted data were discussed with the wards’ physicians and registered in a DRP-database.Results:In total, 607 medical records were reviewed and, on average, 2.5 DRPs per medication review were found. There was a positive correlation between the number prescribed drugs and the average number of DRPs. The most frequent categories of DRPs were ‘drug dosage’, ‘inappropriate drug’ and ‘interactions’. The drugs represented most frequently in DRPs were olanzapine, quetiapine and pantoprazole. The overall acceptance rate was 49% with 33% of those implemented clinically.Conclusion:DRPs were commonly observed among psychiatric patients, particularly in those with multiple prescriptions, in relation to drugs dosage, inappropriate prescriptions and drug interactions. Particular attention must be paid to olanzapine, quetiapine and pantoprazole. Strategies to minimise DRPs among psychiatric patients are warranted and CPs can play an important role.

Comparison of Drug Related Problems Associated with Use of Narrow Therapeutic Index Drugs and Other Drugs in Hospitalized Patients

: Objectives: To identify and categorize types of Drug Related Problems (DRPs), assess various risk factors for developing DRPs and delineate if drugs with narrow therapeutic index or non-narrow therapeutic index drugs cause greater number of DRPs. Methods: Patients from General Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Cardiac and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) departments of a tertiary care teaching hospital were included. Data was collected prospectively over eight months from medical history, medication charts, case notes and laboratory data. Only those patients prescribed at least five drugs were included. Pediatric and Oncology patients and pregnant women were excluded from the study. Narrow therapeutic index (NTI) drugs (Insulin, digoxin, warfarin, levothyroxine, aminoglycoside antibiotics, carbamazepine, lithium and phenytoin) were compared with non NTI-drugs to delineate patterns of DRPs between both groups. Results: A total of 200 patients were enrolled in the study, and 172 DRPs were identified. The most common DRPs were: drug interactions (63%), inappropriate drug use (10.5%) and adverse drug reactions (10.5%). Polypharmacy and duration of hospitalization were established as significant risk factors for developing DRPs. NTI-drugs had a greater risk of developing DRPs (0.22) versus non-NTI drugs (0.08). Two categories of DRPs were found to be more significantly associated with NTI-drugs: ADRs and inappropriate drug use. Conclusion: While ADR and inappropriate drug use were more common with NTI-drugs, in clinical practice other non NTI-drugs: Anti-psychotic drugs (quetiapine, amisulpride etc.) and NSAIDs (aspirin) showed a high tendency for interactions and needed frequent monitoring.Key words: Drug related problems, Drug risk ratio, Narrow therapeutic index drugs, Polypharmacy.

Variations in drug-related problems detected by multidisciplinary teams in Norwegian nursing homes and home nursing care

Objective: Traditionally, nursing homes have been associated with suboptimal drug therapy and drug-related problems (DRPs). In contrast, less is known about drug safety in homecare. The aim of this study was to describe and compare DRPs in older persons across two care settings: nursing homes and home nursing care.Design: Cross-sectional study using descriptive and inferential statistics.Setting: Nursing homes (n = 5) and home nursing care units (n = 8) across nine municipalities in the middle of Norway.Participants: Multidisciplinary medication reviews for 61 nursing home residents and 93 patients receiving home nursing care performed over the 2013–2014 period, were mapped and examined (N = 154).Main outcome measures: DRPs classified by a Norwegian Classification Tool.Results: In all, 740 DRPs were detected in the total sample, 227 in nursing homes and 513 in home nursing care. DRPs were significantly higher among patients receiving home-based care (Mean =5.5) compared to patients in nursing homes (Mean =3.7, p = 0.002). Among the problem categories, the need for additional drug was most frequent in nursing homes (p = 0.001), while documentation discrepancies reached the highest numbers in patients receiving home nursing care (p = 0.000). Additionally, patients in home nursing care had more problems concerning adverse reactions (p = 0.060); however, this was not statistically significant. Differences in DRP categories leading to changes in the patients’ medication lists were also discovered.Conclusions: The frequency of unclear documentation and adverse reactions found in the homecare setting is alarming. This is an important issue given the trend in aged care towards caring people in their own homes. Further research is warranted to explore how different care settings may influence the safety of pharmacotherapy for older persons.Key PointsDrug related problems are a significant cause of concern among patients receiving home nursing care as well as for patients living in nursing homes. The findings of this study showed that:•Significantly more DRPs were detected among patients receiving home nursing care than patients living in nursing homes.•While patients living in nursing homes were often undermedicated, documentation discrepancies were more frequent in home nursing care.•DRP categories leading to changes on the medication lists differed between the settings.

Prevalence and Risk of Polypharmacy Among Elderly Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy in Ambulatory Oncology Setting.

This was a single center, retrospective cross-sectional study looking into the incidence and types of drug-related problems (DRPs) detected among elderly cancer patients receiving at least three long-term medications concurrent with IV chemotherapy, and the types of intervention taken to address these DRPs. This paper serves to elucidate the prevalence and risk of polypharmacy in our geriatric oncology population in an ambulatory care setting, to raise awareness on this growing issue and to encourage more resource allocation to address this healthcare phenomenon. DRP was detected in 77.6% of elderly cancer patients receiving at least three long-term medications concurrent with IV chemotherapy, with an average incidence of three DRPs per patient. Approximately half of DRPs were related to long-term medications. Forty percent of DRPs required interventions at the prescriber level. The use of five or more medications was shown to almost double the risk of DRP occurrence (OR 1.862, P = 0.039). Out of the eight predefined categories of DRPs, underprescribing was the most common (26.7%), followed by adverse drug reaction (25.0%) and drug non-adherence (16.2%). Polypharmacy leading to DRPs is a common occurrence in elderly cancer patients receiving outpatient IV chemotherapy. There should be systematic measures in place to identify patients who are at greater risk of inappropriate polypharmacy and DRPs, and hence more frequent drug therapy optimization and monitoring. The identification of DRPs is an important step to circumvent serious drug-related harm. Future healthcare interventions directed at reducing DRPs should aim to assess the clinical and economic impact of such interventions.

The impact of drug related problems on health-related quality of life among hypertensive patients in Jordan.

Background:Hypertension is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases with a high prevalence in Jordan. No previous studies have been carried out to determine the effect of the presence of drug-related problems (DRPs) on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among hypertensive patients.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of different types of DRPs on the HRQOL of hypertensive patients.Methods:A total of 200 hypertensive patients were recruited in this cross-sectional correlation study that was conducted across the cardiac outpatient clinic at Jordan University Hospital. Ethical approval was obtained and patients were recruited using convenience sampling technique. During the study period, patients’ data was used to evaluate their quality of life using RAND-12 scale and to identify DRPs utilizing a systematic evidence based approach.Results:200 hypertensive patients (mean age 59.7 years (SD=10.2)) were recruited in this study. Patients showed a poor quality of life on both the physical and mental domains of the RAND-12 scale. The average number of DRPs was 5.1 (SD=2.3). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that among DRPs categories, non-adherence to medications, non-adherence to non-pharmacological therapies and inadequate knowledge about medications were among the main predictors of the poor physical domain of the RAND-12 (Beta= -0.149, -0.226 and -0.230 respectively, p-value < 0.05 for all). On the other hand, only non-adherence to medication and non-adherence to non-pharmacological therapies were significantly associated with poor mental domain of the RAND-12 (Beta= -0.208 and -0.191 respectively, p-value < 0.05 for both).Conclusion:Prevalence of DRPs among hypertensive patients is a concern that needs attention. These DRPs were associated with poor HRQOL on both the physical and mental domain of the RAND-12 scale. The pharmaceutical care service delivered by pharmacists is needed to identify, prevent and resolve DRPs, which may improve patients HRQOL.

Investigating the Relative Significance of Drug-Related Problem Categories.

The aim of the review was to investigate whether an assessment of clinical significance can be related to specific drug-related problems (DRPs) and hence may assist in prioritizing individual categories of DRP categorization systems. The literature search using Google Scholar was performed for the period 1990 to 2013 and comprised primary research studies of clinical pharmacy interventions including DRP and clinical significance assessments. Two reviewers assessed the titles, abstracts, and full-text papers individually, and inclusion was determined by consensus. A total of 27 unique publications were included in the review. They had been conducted in 14 different countries and reported a large range of DRPs (71–5948). Five existing DRP categorisation systems were frequently used, and two methods employed to assess clinical significance were frequently reported. The present review could not establish a consistent relation between the DRP categories and the level of clinical significance. However, the categories “ADR” and possibly “Drug interaction” were often associated with an assessed high clinical significance, albeit they were infrequently identified in the studies. Hence, clinical significance assessments do not seem to be useful in prioritizing individual DRPs in the DRP categorization systems. Consequently, it may be necessary to reconsider our current approach for evaluating DRPs.

Identifikasi Drug Related Problems (DRPs) Pada Pasien Pediatri Pneumonia Komunitas di Instalasi Rawat Inap RSD Madani Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah

Drug Related Problems (DRPs) are events or circumstances involving drug therapy that actually or potentially interfere with desired health outcomes. DRPs may occur in the treatment of various diseases such as community acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study aims to determine the percentage of DRPs in pediatric inpatients with CAP. This is a descriptive and observational study design with prospective data conducted in November 2015 until February 2016 at Madani Hospital, Central Sulawesi. The results obtained from 28 patients showed that incidences of DRPs categories of inappropriate drug is 1 event (1,7%), inappropriate drug combination 35 events (58,3%), drugs dose too low 18 events (30%), drugs dose too high 6 events (10%), and no indication for drug 0 event (0%).

The Outcome of Clinical Pharmacists' Interventions in a Taiwanese Hospital on Pharmacoeconomics and Cost Saving

Objective In this study, we indented to evaluate the cost implications after preventing drug adverse events of inpatients by the proper interventions made by clinical pharmacists in a Taiwanese hospital. Methods Five clinical pharmacists who were assigned to intensive care units, neurology, cardiology, and nephrology wards documented all interventions with a standardized form. The data were retrospectively evaluated for the following information: (1) categories of drug-related problems; (2) general descriptions of the interventions; and (3) the clinical outcomes of the pharmacist-provided interventions. These pharmacist-provided interventions were independently reviewed by one clinical pharmacist and one physician to determine the probability that an adverse drug event (ADE) would have occurred without the intervention, the severity of potential ADEs, and the clinical significance of the interventions. The potential cost avoidance of the interventions was estimated calculating the payments for the potential ADEs. Results A total of 460 interventions provided by pharmacists were documented from December 2010 to May 2011. The most commonly documented interventions made by pharmacists were the recommendations of dosage adjustment s (48.7%). Approximately, 89.3% of pharmacist recommendations ( n = 411) were accepted by physicians in the therapeutic team. The potential cost saving of the documented interventions during a 6-month period was calculated to be between 3,692,019 and 9,110,880 in National Taiwan Dollars (NTD), and the potential benefit:cost ratio was estimated as high as 8.4:1. Conclusion Interventions provided by hospital clinical pharmacists significantly prevented potential ADEs by monitor actively drug therapy and patient safety at the intensive care unit, cardiology, neurology, and nephrology care units. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to document the potential cost saving and obtained a benefit:cost ratio of 8.4:1 based on the implementation of a proper medication management and use provided by five clinical pharmacists for 6 months in a Taiwan hospital.

CP-063 Comparison of drug-related problems in two different surgical departments using the Danish Safer Hospital Programme at Kolding Hospital

BackgroundDuring the implementation of the Danish Safer Hospital Programme (DSHP) in 2010–2013, two surgical departments hired pharmacy staff to carry out medicines reconciliations and medicines reviews. The staff had to...

Drug-Related Problems in Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Cross Sectional Retrospective Study

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patients are at risk of acquiring drug-related problems (DRPs), as it is present in the majority of aging men. To date, DRPs among BPH patients have not been well studied. We conducted this retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia from January 2009 to June 2012 with the aim of identifying the factors associated with DRPs among BPH patients. The Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe Classification Version (PCNE) 5.01 was used as a tool to classify DRPs. We enrolled 203 patients from 259 hospital admissions. A total of 390 DRPs were found and there was an average of 1.5±1.3 problems per hospitalization. 76.1% of hospital admissions included at least one DRP. The most common DRP categories encountered were drug choice problems (45.9%), drug interactions (24.9%), and dosing problems (13.3%). Factors such as advanced age (p = 0.005), a hospital stay of more than 6 days (p = 0.001), polydrug treatments (p<0.001), multiple comorbidities (p<0.001), and comorbid cardiovascular disease (p = 0.011), diabetes mellitus(p = 0.001), hypertension (p<0.001) and renal impairment (p = 0.011) were significantly associated with the occurrence of DRPs. These data indicated that the prevalence of DRPs is high among BPH patients. The identification of different subtypes of DRPs and the factors associated with DRPs may facilitate risk reduction for BPH patients.

CPC-056 Evolution in Drug Related Problems Identified in Pharmacist Notes at the Emergency Department, Hiller¯D Hospital Denmark

Background‘Pharmacists in the Emergency Department’ is a two-year implementation project carried out in collaboration between the pharmacy of Capital Region and the Emergency Department (ED) at Hillerød hospital. The task...

A retrospective analysis of drug-related problems documented in a national database

Numerous patients are subject to drug-related problems (DRPs) every day, resulting in sub-optimal therapy, suffering and decreased quality of life, as well as in high societal health care costs. Classifying DRPs is important for the development of counselling skills and for pharmaceutical care practice and research, including assessments of the value of pharmacists' clinical interventions. Pharmacy practitioners have also reported to become more attentive to patients' drug-related needs, when requested to document their clinical interventions. Several studies have been conducted on DRPs, but there is still a need for a more thorough knowledge about their nature and the reasons for their occurrence. To examine DRP characteristics and causes by retrospectively analysing data and patient case histories, as documented by pharmacy practitioners in the Swedish national DRP database. Community pharmacy based patient documentation, entered into the Swedish national DRP database. Documented DRPs, clinical interventions and patient data were retrospectively examined and analysed. Particular attention was paid to case history reports in free text fields. Only reports containing adequate information for analysis and actual, correctly categorised DRPs were included. Subdivided DRP characteristics and causes. Both similarities and differences between DRP subclasses of prescription patients (n = 5,571) and OTC drug consumers (n = 2,894) were observed. Most DRP categories could be subdivided into at least three subclasses, according to their characteristics. Causes of DRPs could be extracted from free text field reports in four prescription DRP categories and three OTC DRP categories. Uncertainty about the aim of the drug was commonly characterised by a lack of knowledge about the indication in prescription patients and in an inappropriate drug selection in OTC drug consumers. A switch from a brand-name drug to a generic drug or from one generic to another was the cause in half of the therapy failures, which in turn was a frequent reason for overuse of drug. The study demonstrates the multi-facetted drug-related problems in patients and confirms the importance of attention by pharmacy practitioners for the detection of and intervention for DRPs.

Prevalence of drug-related problems in self-medication in Danish community pharmacies

Background: Drug-related problems are known to be a major problem associated with pharmacotherapy. A broad range of studies, mainly in the area of prescription-only medicines, supports this fact. Only a few studies have evaluated drug-related problems with over-the-counter medicine and the role of community pharmacies in this.&#x0D; Purpose: To quantify drug-related problems in self-medication (use of over-the-counter medicine) identified by community pharmacies in Denmark and to document the interventions by pharmacy staff in relation to the identified drug-related problems.&#x0D; Method: A descriptive study mapping drug-related problems in self-medication registered at the counter at a selected number of Danish community pharmacies.&#x0D; Results: Data for 3,868 consecutive customers with requests for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines were registered at 39 community pharmacies. The pharmacies registered a total number of 4,324 OTC medicines requests, illustrating that a customer requested 1.1 OTC medicines on average. Drug-related problems (DRPs) were identified for 813 customers, equivalent to DRPs for 21.0 % of all customers, presenting symptoms or requesting OTC medicines, and for 20 % of all over-the-counter medicines requests. 1,239 DRPs were registered, corresponding to an average of 1.5 DRPs per customer requesting OTC medicines. Community pharmacies estimated that they solved or partly solved 76.2 % of the detected DRPs; 73 % were solved without involving a general practitioner.&#x0D; Conclusions: DRPs were identified for 21.0 % of the pharmacy customers presenting a symptom or asking for an OTC medicine. The community pharmacy counselled the customers with DRPs more thoroughly than other customers by giving 2.4 pieces of professional advice, compared to an average of 2.1 to customers in general. It is not possible to determine the magnitude of the safety risk involved. Based on the most frequent categories of DRPs, there were risks of insufficient effect, unintended effects and, to a lesser extent, inappropriate self-medication.&#x0D; &#x0D; Type: Original Research