What percentage (preferably with a demographic breakout and recent
statistics ie post 1995) of US shoppers consult with a pharmicist on
over the counter medications? Is there a breakout on types of over the
counter medications - would prefer information on poison ivy and rash
medications.

Hi aesir-ga,

A study entitled "Attitudes and Beliefs About the Use of
Over-the-Counter Medicines: A Dose of Reality - Prepared for: National
Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) January 2002," by
Harris Interactive, http://www.bemedwise.org/survey/final_survey.pdf ,
polled 1,011 adult Americans aged 18 and over between October and
November 2001, and  451 pharmacists, nurses and general practice
physicians in November
and December 2001.

"According to the consumer poll, almost as many consumers get their
information about nonprescription medicines from the mass media (49
percent) as they do from health professionals (57 percent).
- This is not because health professionals are unwilling to discuss
OTC use with theirpatients. In fact, three in four of the
practitioners surveyed (75 percent) say they ask their
patients/customers directly about OTC drug use most or all of the
time. Only one quarter of health professionals (27 percent) say they
wait for patients to volunteer information about their OTC use.
- When discussing the use of nonprescription medicines, the survey
finds that the majority of practitioners (65 percent) spend more than
a minute offering specific counseling. Most of this time is spent on:
how to take a product (62 percent); what OTC drug to use (56 percent);
how well the product works (54 percent); drug interactions (50
percent); taking more than one OTC drug at a time (49 percent);
cautions prior to or following surgery (43 percent); and taking more
than the recommended dose of an OTC medicine (42 percent)."

The report includeds demographic breakdowns for age, sex, race of
consumers and medical profressionals.

Unfortunately, the granularity does not extend to particularize poison
ivy and rash. however, it does state that, in response to the survey
question,

"How often do you discuss with your patients/customers the use of
nonprescription medicine for each of the following therapeutic
categories?",:

"For infections such as athlete’s foot or a yeast infection, 38%" of
pharmacists/doctors discussed the use of OTC (over the counter
medication);

"For skin problems, 30%" of pharmacists/doctors discussed the use of
OTC (over the counter medication).

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Request for Answer Clarification by aesir-ga on 04 Jun 2002 09:31 PDT

FYI - I found that I had to log in twice and only then discovered the
buttons for "Request for Answer Clarification". My response to the
answer is contained in a comment. Briefly, I need information about
pharmicist consults - is there any just relating to skin conditions
that might help? See comment for full message.

---

Clarification of Answer by robr-ga on 07 Jun 2002 06:04 PDT

Hi,

I'm sorry, but I'm unable to find anything more specific than the
survey results mentioned in the Harris Interactive Report cited above,
http://www.bemedwise.org/survey/final_survey.pdf , that in the US, for
skin problems, 30% of pharmacists/physicians discussed use of OTC
medications with their patients.

Online information about pharmacist consultation in the U.S. is
scarce. however, the Non Prescription Drug Manufacturers Association
of Canada provides a profile of Canadian over-the-counter drug
consumers which offers general stats and graphs as a one-shot, not a
year by year survey. The specific references are located about
one-third of the way down the page in Section III - Self-Medication
Practices. 58% of those Canadians surveyed stated that they consulted
a pharmacist when purchasing an OTC product. There's an addition
breakdown of demographics by condition and gender.

http://www.ndmac.ca/research/C-npdusr.html

This document also references the Roper Center for Public Opinion
Research. Roper's online website is prone to 404 and other errors,
however you may contact them via e-mail for the availability of their
Health Survey statistics: rcweb@ropercenter.uconn.edu

~larre-ga

This is great information though I was hoping for more specific
information as it relates to pharmicist consultations in the US.
Interestingly, the Canadien surveys do no surprise me given the larger
number of medications available OTC. I've witnessed more people
consulting a pharmicist in Alberta than here in a US suburban area.
Are there other statistics even just relating to skin conditions that
may help here? I'm trying to get a handle on how people learn about
OTC medications and what influences their buying decisions. The first
survey you referenced is very good and will help me to better
understand how people choose OTC's.