What is the OTC World Coming To?
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
Is it really all about sex? In the U.S., the so-called "morning after pill" can now be obtained over-the-counter (OTC) by certain women, although some pharmacists are taking exception to supplying it.
In the U.K., Viagra will now be available OTC but only after a lengthy interview between customer and pharmacist. More and more retailers are offering medical advice and treatment, leaving decisions about who should be given what medications in the hands of a whole different type of professional who may or may not let their own consciences affect their recommendations.
Boots, a nationwide chain of pharmacies in the U.K., loudly broadcast its status as the first to be selling Viagra OTC. Only when the first customers arrived were they greeted with the news that they had to read a leaflet and make an appointment with the pharmacist before being allowed to hand over their cash in exchange for the pills.
As a spokesperson for the chain told The Guardian, "The Boots erectile dysfunction program involves a detailed hour-long consultation which means customers need to book an appointment with the pharmacist. As planned, the service launched in Manchester stores when all the information leaflets and signage went up announcing availability of the new service and how to book an appointment.
"This is a sensitive condition which needs the appropriate time devoted to it by a pharmacist, and we're sorry if some customers have got the wrong impression from recent media coverage."
Regardless of where the lack of communication took place, the process was certainly not what customers expected and not necessarily a choice they would have made had they known they would be discussing intimate details with a pharmacist rather than a doctor presumably well acquainted with their history and circumstances.
As more American retailers introduce in-store clinics and pharmacists play more active roles in dispensing medication previously available by prescription only, relationships between individuals and professionals are changing.
The idea seems to be to keep costs down for consumers and reserve doctors' time for consultations requiring a higher level of medical expertise. It also, theoretically, takes advantage of pharmacists advanced understanding of drug interactions to help consumers manage their prescription medicine regimens effectively. It may also help to avoid life-threatening consequences as the result of a doctor either not having a full history on a patient or simply making a mistake for one reason or another.
Discussion questions: Should a consumer have to divulge the type of personal information they share with a doctor with a pharmacist to obtain an over-the-counter remedy? What are the implications for pharmacists, their employers and consumers?