MORE than 70% of pharmacy staff are asked for non-prescription access to prescription medicines at least weekly, according to new research out of Griffith University presented at the World Self Medication Industry (WSMI) General Assembly yesterday.
The session was dedicated to switch and featured switch experts Dr Edwin Hemwall and Dr Natalie Gauld, as well as study lead author and Griffith University pharmacist and lecturer in pharmacy practice Denise Hope (pictured).
The most common consumer requests relate to antibiotics (24%), analgesics (19%) and contraceptives (11%), the study revealed.
Almost all pharmacists polled (90%) said opposition from other health professional bodies is a major barrier to change, in spite of the fact that medicines proposed by the pharmacy profession for reclassification align with those available as non-prescription overseas.
Similarly, the most frequently requested prescription medicines often aligned with those considered potential targets for reclassification, authors explained.
Finally, the studies found pharmacists agreed on the need to identify and campaign for further potential S3 candidates such as more potent or larger quantities of topical corticosteroids.
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