Introduction:

In Taiwan, only one-third of consumers correctly understood how to take OTCs if they relied solely on OTC package descriptions.

Objectives:

This study aimed to design, implement, and evaluate impacts of a tailored pharmacist counseling approach on consumers’ awareness of the correct use of OTC medicines.

Methods:

This prospective study was conducted using a time-based sampling of two independent groups at a single community pharmacy in Taiwan for one year period beginning December 2018. Participants included were consumers who were at least 20 years old, Mandarin-speaking, and acquired an OTC medicine at the study site. In the control group, participants received a usual counseling of the use of OTCs they acquired. In the experimental group, participants received a fine-tuned pharmacist counseling along with the instruction of medicine use from the OTC packaging. One hundred participants were recruited in each group. A facilitator-administrated survey was used through a face-to-face approach to evaluate participants’ awareness of the correct use of OTC medicines. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were performed to compare the differences in the understanding of correct use of OTCs between two phases.

Results:

The fine-tuned counseling approach was designed and composed of five steps that facilitated a structured pharmacist-consumer interaction about how to use OTCs safely. These principles (SAIDS) include (1) Surface the past medicine history, (2) inquire Allergy, (3) provide the medicine Indication for consumers, (4) Direct how to take the medicine correctly, and (5) Strategies of coping with common Side effects and Self-care. Compared with the traditional counseling approach, participants had higher correctness in the understanding of how to use OTCs via the SAIDS counseling approach along with highlighting package label instructions. Consumers had significant improvements in understanding indications(p = 0.047), side effects(p = 0.046), and how to handle side effects(p < 0.001) of respective OTCs acquired by each individual.

Discussion:

The fine-tuned counseling approach may help refine pharmacists’ skills of OTC counseling toward a more structured and effective way under time-limited encounters with consumers. The SAIDS counseling approach is encouraged to test its effectiveness and generalizability at more community settings on a large scale.