Abstract:

Purpose: Over the counter drugs (OTC) are sold without the prescription of a registered medical practitioner. There are reports that OTC drug market in India is on the rise. This is attributed to the rising cost of healthcare, difficulty in accessing healthcare, and an alarming tendency to self-manage symptoms. The outcome of this is OTC related adverse effects, abuse and hospitalizations. Subjects and Methods: The primary objective was to assess the knowledge of drug dispensing pattern of community pharmacists. The secondary objective was to assess the knowledge regarding drug related problems of over the counter medication. The tertiary objective was to find out whether the pharmacists involving in counselling activities. A community based, observational study was conducted among community pharmacist in Kalaburagi city, to find out knowledge on dispensing pattern of OTC medication. All the community pharmacist participated in the study were provided with a data collection form including self -structured questionnaires. One week after pre-test all the community pharmacist were educated regarding OTC drugs by means of providing information leaflets about OTC drugs. Post-test has been taken after 15 days of education by means of same questionnaires. Data were entered into Excel and analyzed using SPSS software. Pre and post intervention data were compared using student’s t-test. Results: Among 110 pharmacist, males 98 (89.1%) were more compared to females 12(10.9%). The mean knowledge scores on drug dispensing pattern of community pharmacist in pre-test were 57.0% and post test is 87.6%. Conclusions: Among 110 pharmacist, males 98 (89.1%) were more compared to females 12(10.9%). The mean knowledge scores on drug dispensing pattern of community pharmacist in pre-test were 57.0% and post test is 87.6%.

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