Table 1.
Characteristics of pharmacies, customers, and OTC medications
| Code | Pharmacy characteristics | Pharmacies with virtual services | Pharmacies with traditional services | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | No. pharmacies | 6 | 6 | — |
| B | No. pharmacy staff | 18 | 21 | — |
| C | Educational level of pharmacy staff | — | — | 0.25 |
| Diploma | 1 | 3 | — | |
| Bachelor’s degree | 14 | 15 | — | |
| Master’s degree | 3 | 2 | — | |
| Doctorate | 0 | 1 | — | |
| D | Experience of pharmacy staff | — | — | 0.43 |
| < 2 y | 8 | 10 | — | |
| 2–5 y | 6 | 8 | — | |
| > 5 y | 4 | 3 | — | |
| Characteristics of customers | — | — | — | |
| E | No. customers who requested or received OTC medicines | 2036 | 1163 | 0.01a |
| F | Estimated age (y) (%) | — | — | 0.03a |
| < 18 | 21 (1.0) | 103 (8.9) | — | |
| 18–29 | 298 (14.6) | 429 (36.9) | — | |
| 30–45 | 673 (33.1) | 419 (36.0) | — | |
| 45–65 | 623 (30.6) | 203 (17.5) | — | |
| > 65 | 421 (20.7) | 9 (0.7) | — | |
| G | Patient age groups (younger/older) (y) (%) | 0.001a | ||
| > 65 y | 421 (20.7) | 9 (0.7) | ||
| < 65 y | 1615 (79.3) | 1154 (99.3) | ||
| H | Gender (%) | 0.61 | ||
| Male | 1066 (52.4) | 652 (56.1) | ||
| Female | 970 (47.6) | 511 (43.9) | ||
| OTC medication characteristics | 0.001 | |||
| J | Total no. OTC medications requested (by patient) | 4623 | 1986 | |
| K | Total no. prescribed OTC medications (by physician or pharmacist) | 1730 | 447 | |
| L | Total no. dispensed OTC medications | 5099 | 1876 | |
| M | Frequency of potential abuse | 368 | 188 | |
| N | Frequency of potential misuse | 872 | 403 | |
| O | Incidence of potential OTC abuse {O = M/(J + K) ×100} (%) | 5.8 | 7.7 | 0.1 |
| P | Incidence of potential OTC misuse {P = N/(J + K) × 100} (%) | 13.7 | 16.6 | 0.6 |
| Q | Pharmacist interventions on potential OTC abuse (%) | 306 (83.2) | 82 (91.0) | 0.09 |
| R | Pharmacist interventions on potential OTC misuse (%) | 696 (79.8) | 166 (41.2) | 0.02a |
| S | Types of OTC medications requested or prescribed with potential abuse/misuse (%) | 0.04a | ||
| Antihistamines | 1684 (26.5) | 746 (30.7) | ||
| Analgesics | 1496 (23.5) | 603 (24.8) | ||
| Cough medicines | 1626 (25.6) | 236 (9.7) | ||
| Laxatives | 203 (3.2) | 169 (6.9) | ||
| Codeine-containing products | 893 (14.1) | 421 (17.3) | ||
| Decongestants | 451 (7.1) | 258 (10.6) | ||
| Total (%) | 6353 (100.0) | 2433 (100.0) |
Abbreviation used: OTC, over the counter.
a
P values are considered significant.