Background:Practice of self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines is considered as responsible self-medication and is a topic of growing interest among researchers and health policy makers. Aim: The study aims to find the overall prevalence and factors associated with self-medication among adults in the urban area of Udupi taluk. Settings and Design: Community based cross-sectional study design in the urban area of Udupi taluk. Methods and Materials: In a community-based cross-sectional study, data was collected from 290 adults selected from each ward of urban area of Udupi taluk using single stage cluster sampling technique with proportional allocation method. An interview schedule was used for the collection of data. The data was analyzed using SPSS, version 15 (Chicago, IL). Results:The overall prevalence of self-medication use including allopathic, traditional, homeopathic medicines and home remedies in urban area of Udupi was found to be 35.9 %. (95% CI: 30-41).The various socio-demographic factors like age group, marital status, education and occupation as well as socio-economic status were found statistically associated with selfmedication ( p<0.05). Health-related characteristics like presence of health professional in the family, knowledge of OTC medicines and its responsible use were also found to be statistically significant ( p<0.05). Accessibility of medicines from the pharmacy without prescription (p=0.007), obtaining quick relief p=0.034 and avoiding crowds while visiting doctors p=0.041 were found to be statistically significant reasons for self-medication. Conclusion: Prevalence of self-medication in the urban area of Udupi taluk was comparable to other studies conducted in India. Self-medication as a practice is emerging as an important public health subject; however, the onus is on providing much needed health education and partnership with pharmacists to empower individuals to make informed decisions.

Objective: To study the effects of medication reconciliation and patient counseling on the overall health benefits of the patients in the department of gastroenterology. Methods: This study is a prospective interventional study, was conducted in a 500 bedded MNR Hospital. The sample size taken was 150 patients and the study population comprised of patients aged 18-80 y, admitted in the hospital during the study period of six months. Results: Out of 150 patients, there were 98 (65.33%) male patients and 52 (34.67%) female patients. Patients between 18 and 30 y of age were 29(19.33%), between the age of 30 and 50 y were 71 (47.33%) and above 50 were 50(33.33%). Pancreatitis was most prevalent with 21% of total prevalence, followed by CLD and cholelithiasis with 17%, then IBD 16%, PUD and Gastritis 5%, GERD 4% and other diseases 15%. Conclusion: The basic role of the pharmacist, is to help in minimizing the errors and to perform medication reconciliation. In patient counseling, pharmacists provide information about the disease, and the medications to increase patient safety and the changes in the behavior for the better outcome.