OTC Use Research Articles

Substitution between prescribed and over-the-counter medications.

Using data from the Health Insurance Experiment (HIE), this article examines use of over-the-counter drugs (OTC) in a general, nonelderly population. Families from six areas of the country were assigned to health insurance plans that varied in the amount of medical care cost sharing. Thus, the out-of-pocket prices of OTC relative to prescription drugs were experimentally varied. The sites were chosen to represent markets with differing access to physician services. Multivariate methods were used to relate OTC use (collected from bi-weekly health diaries) to cost sharing and demographic variables. The empirical results do not support the expectation that people assigned less generous insurance for prescription drugs substitute OTC for prescriptions. People with complete insurance coverage purchased more of both types of drugs, suggesting OTC are an adjunct to formal medical care, rather than a substitute for it. Better educated and more knowledgeable consumers used more OTC drugs and spent more of their drug budget on OTC products. That there was greater OTC drug use in HIE sites with poorer access to formal medical care suggests there was some substitution between formal care and self-care with OTC drugs. Overall, however, better financial access to formal care promotes rather than substitutes for OTC use.

Opinions of Mississippi Pharmacists on the OTC Status of Ibuprofen

A mail survey was sent to all owners of community pharmacists in Mississippi, yielding a res onse from 265 (31.7%) P usable for this study. Most respondents felt that ibuprofen was a good chioce for the switch, was safe for OTC use, and should not be reimbursable as an OTC under third party programs. The largest effect of the switch was believed to be in decreased sales for aspirin and for prescriptions for Motrin. Generic ibuprofen and Advil were the most frequently recommended.

Opinions of Mississippi Pharmacists on the OTC Status of Ibuprofen

A mail survey was sent to all owners of community pharmacists in Mississippi, yielding a res onse from 265 (31.7%) P usable for this study. Most respondents felt that ibuprofen was a good chioce for the switch, was safe for OTC use, and should not be reimbursable as an OTC under third party programs. The largest effect of the switch was believed to be in decreased sales for aspirin and for prescriptions for Motrin. Generic ibuprofen and Advil were the most frequently recommended.

Rational Use of OTCs

Rational Use of OTCs

Use of Adverse Reaction Data Bases and Making Risk Assessments of Proposed Switch Candidates

We are as never before at a point in our science that we are able to begin to evaluate the truth about drug risks. It is hoped that we will couple what we know about our evolving epidemiologic science with what we know about the medical arts. As this era of pharmaco-epidemiology continues to assess questions of drug safety in populations and apply public health principles to evaluate the switch of prescription drugs to OTC use, we will begin to see a more meaningful definition of terms like “Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective” and “acceptable risk.”

A pharmacist's proposal for improved pharmacotherapy

The pharmaceutical sciences have recently made great progresses towards a better knowledge of drug action. For the security of medication, it seems most important that said knowledge should be made available to specialists without delay. This means also that an adequate instruction in pharmacobiological branches is necessary. Cooperation of physicians and pharmacists should be intensified. The latter are in a position to give general information (i.e. critical evaluation of a new drug on the market) as well as specific information (required form of administration, mode of action, biopharmaceutical properties, adequate dosage, adverse effects and probable interactions, alternative medication in case of contraindications, etc.). The medical and pharmaceutical studies today do not sufficiently prepare both professions for such a cooperation. It is therefore highly advisable to coordinate in a better way the education in different sciences. For the time being, pharmacists already have at their disposals a good infrastructure, which comprises the scientific center of the national professional organization. The information of the patient himself should also be developed and intensified, especially with regard to the correct use of drugs, prescribed or OTC. Again, this specific activity needs the close cooperation of physicians and pharmacists. Steady relations between both health professions are thus to be deepened and reinforced for the benefit of the patient.