Community pharmacists’ perspective and professional fulfillment regarding online selling of over-the-counter and prescription drugs during COVID-19 in Metro Manila

Abstract

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, purchasing goods and services through the internet has become commonplace. As they begin to develop, buying medication online has become one of the top concerns for public health. This research aims to assess and evaluate the perspective and professional fulfillment of community pharmacists regarding the online selling of OTCs and prescription drugs during COVID-19 in Metro Manila. Self-administered online surveys were used as the primary tool for quantitative data collection to gain information from the respondents based on their knowledge and experiences. The results were gathered and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher test, Chi-square, and R version 4.2.0. to summarize and establish associations between responses. The research concluded that the adaptation of online selling of over-the-counter and prescription drugs during COVID-19 has a significant relationship between the community pharmacist’s perspective and professional fulfillment. However, it may cause a disadvantage for purchasing medicines online due to the possibility of counterfeit drugs and utilizing fake prescriptions.