Table 5.
The types of information gathered (obtained from patient simulation)
| The types of information gathered | Symptom-based requests (ACE inhibitor induced cough) n = 76 pharmacies | Product-based request (ACE inhibitor induced cough) n = 69 pharmacies | Symptom-based request (Simple, acute childhood diarrhoea) n = 80 pharmacies |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Patient identity | 23 (30%) | 2 (3%) | 77 (96%) |
| • Signs and symptoms, This included: | |||
| o Nature of symptoms (i.e., whether the cough productive or non productive in the 2 cough scenarios; and stool consistency and frequency of diarrhoea in the childhood diarrhoea scenario). | 67 (88%) | 4 (6%) | 22 (28%) |
| o Duration of symptoms | 16 (21%) | 0 (0%) | 27 (34%) |
| o History of symptoms | 3 (4%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| o Precipitating factors | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (5%) |
| o Accompanying symptoms | 28 (37%) | 0 (0%) | 12 (15%) |
| o Danger symptoms* | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| • Action taken | 12 (16%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (6%) |
| • Medical history | 3 (4%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| • Current medications being used | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| • Allergies | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
*Danger symptoms are defined as symptoms that warrant medical referral. For the cough scenarios, danger symptoms constituted symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, green/rusty/blood in sputum. For the diarrhoea scenarios, danger symptoms constituted symptoms such as blood/mucus in the stool and severe dehydration signs.