Abstract:
Introduction. Optimizing OTC medications are an important component of caring for an older
person. However there is surprisingly little information about how elderly people choose and use
nonprescription medications. Community pharmacists are an essential resource and clearly play a key role in geriatric population’ use of OTC medications. To ensure that elderly patients are
able to manage their non-prescription medicines and do not suffer from adverse effects caused
by excessive or inappropriate consumption of this medicines, it is necessarily to achieve greater
partnership in medicine taking between elderly patients and pharmacists.
Aim of the study. to determine the over-the-counter drug consumption pattern of elderly people
in pharmacist’s point of view and to highlight a need for improved pharmacy education around
OTC drugs use in the elderly.
Materials and methods. The study was a cross sectional study on pharmacists dispensing OTC
medicines for elderly visitors in community pharmacy. The pharmacies were selected randomly
and then pharmacists were interviewed by using standardized questionnaires that includes 10
questions, with 7 closed-ended and 3 open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics (frequencies
and percentages) were used to summarize the data. All analyses were performed using SPSS for
Windows version 22.0.
Results. Data on the use of OTC medications in the elderly were collected by questioning
pharmacists. The majority of pharmacists responded that elderly people visit community
pharmacy to medication supply; 91.8% of them got drugs from medical prescription and 76,4%
practiced self-medication. 73% of the elderly practiced to ask question about their medication,
95,4% of them ask about the right way to administer and 80,7% about indications (uses for the
drug). Older adults used OTC medications to treat pain (73%), colds (51%), headaches (49%),
constipation (31%), diarrhea (25%), fever (25%), coughs (22%), insomnia (20%) and others.
Concerning OTC drugs used by elderly, the most of them took citramon (60%), acetaminophen
(53,6%), pancreatin (44,5%), ibuprofen (42,7%) and others. 65% of the respondents indicated
that elderly patients frequently return to their pharmacy for asking further counseling and
appreciated the compliance to the OTC therapy as satisfactory (55%).
Conclusions. The results of the study indicate that it’s important to encourage elderly patients
further to seek pharmacist’s professional advice before purchasing OTC medicines, especially on
supporting effective use of NSAID medicines and promoting patient education on pain.
Pharmacists are in an excellent position to continue education in geriatric care, which would
increase the demand for pharmacists with the skills, knowledge, and experience to care for
elderly people.
