Self-medication in Hungary, from the perspective of pharmacy workers.

The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the pharmacist's views on self-medication, their perceptions of advertisements for OTC medicines, and their knowledge and awareness of people that purchase OTC medicines. The data were gathered in Hungarian pharmacies with questionnaires distributed as inserts in two trade journals--Gyógyszertár and Pirulatrend. The questionnaires dealt with five main issues: advertisements for OTC medicines, questions related to self-medication, patient-pharmacist communication, questions related to the usefulness of patient information sheets, and demographic data. The gathered data were coded and analyzed with the SPSS 13 software. Some respondents (34.9%) believed that the effects of OTC medicines are exaggerated in advertisements. According to 58.2% of professionals, members of the public are aware of the medicine that is currently being advertised, but not of other medicines with similar effects. Providing assistance in self-medication is perhaps one of the most important means of promoting the correct use of medicines. Our results highlighted the need to strengthen communication between patients and pharmacists. Pharmacy workers are in a position to assist the public. However, little is known regarding the patient experience of the distribution and services provided by pharmacies related to OTC medicines. These experiences should be researched and combined with our findings in order to draft a set of guidelines for purchasing OTC medicines. We recommend that pharmacists keep individual records detailing patient experience and use of OTC medicines.