Availability and impact of information on medicines on community pharmacy sites from Moldova

Abstract

Introduction. Currently, the growth of the self-medication phenomenon is facilitated by the possibility of over-the-counter procurement of medicines, their widespread advertising on television, broadcasting unverified information on the Internet about diseases and their treatment, lack of time to see a doctor, etc. One of the most important factors contributing to the self-medication process is ordering medications online from community pharmacy websites without consulting a specialist. In this case, it is not excluded that the patient may commit several errors in the administration of drugs such as incorrect use of doses, inattention and non-compliance with the administration according to meals (until or after), compatibility of administered drugs, procurement of drugs in wrong doses and quantities, confusion of drug names or medicinal substances etc. Aim of study. Assessing the current situation of the availability of medicines on the websites of community pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova and its impact on the rational use of drugs and patient safety. Methods and materials. In order to elucidate the opinions of specialists and the population regarding the current situation of purchasing medicines through the websites of community pharmacies and its influence on the rational use of medicines and patient safety, two types of questionnaires were developed: a) pharmacists; b) the population. 200 electronic questionnaires were completed using Google Forms. Results. The results of the questionnaire show that 51% of respondents have already ordered medicines online, of which 53% are satisfied with their order of medicines. Moreover, 14% of those surveyed have never ordered medicines from community pharmacy websites, however they intend to do so in the near future. Only 33% of respondents are not willing to order medicines online. And most importantly, 83% of the population do not have information about the consequences of drug abuse. Among the most common reasons for buying medicines from community pharmacy websites among patients are: the more affordable price for medicines (80.7%); time saving (68.8%); convenience of delivery (60.4%); wide range of pharmaceuticals and medicines (44.5%); ease of searching for the necessary medicines (46.5%). Conclusion. Our survey found that the vast majority of patients do not have information about the potential complications of drug abuse and, as a result, do not develop a clear idea of the influence of self-medication on patient safety. Analyzing the data and the answers obtained, we can say that the vast majority of the population resorts to ordering drugs online, without consulting a doctor or pharmacist, thus risking the possibility of erroneous medication.