Promoting Safe and Effective Use of OTC Medications: CHPA-GSA National Summit

Abstract

Research on the ways older people use prescription medications (Rx) is a mainstay of the gerontological literature because use of Rx medications is common, and appropriate use is central to effective management of chronic disease. But older adults are also major consumers of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which can be equally significant for self-care. Nearly half of older adults aged 75-85, for example, are regular users of an OTC product. Ensuring that consumers safely and effectively use OTC products is critical in order to minimize potential drug-drug interactions and unintentional misuse. Yet we know surprisingly little about the ways older adults select OTC medications and decide when to start or stop use, how older people actually take these medications, or how involved clinicians and family members are in older adult OTC behavior. Research in this area is critical for developing interventions to help ensure safe and appropriate OTC use. For this reason, The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), in partnership with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), convened a summit of experts to set an agenda for research in OTC behaviors among older adults. The panel suggested a need for research in 5 key areas: Health literacy and OTC behavior, decision making and OTC use, the role of clinicians in OTC medication behavior, older adult OTC behavior and family care, and technologies to promote optimal use of OTC medications.

The role of a pharmacist in prevention and detection of OTC drug interactions: Nominal group technique

“…1 , јер закони омогућавају њихово несме-тано рекламирање путем средстава јавног информисања [2][3] , као и због великих економ-ских уштеда које здравствени системи еко-номски развијених земаља постижу превође-њем лекова што се издају уз лекарски рецепт у ОТЦ препарате [4][5] . Према подацима за 2014. годину у САД-у је било регистровано више од 300.000 различитих ОТЦ препарата, који се могу разврстати у 12 великих терапијских група 6 . На територији Европе регистрован је далеко мањи број ОТЦ препарата, па је тако у Словенији у 2017. години било регистровано свега 1.150 ОТЦ препарата 7 .…”

Designing an over-the-counter consumer decision-making tool for older adults

“…Some health-related tasks, such as choosing an appropriate over-the-counter (OTC) medication, do not require direct oversight from a healthcare provider and place the decision-making task in the hands of consumers [1,9,11]. There are nearly one hundred thousand OTC medications available and like prescription medication, safe OTC medication use is heavily dependent on a consumer's ability to understand and use the medication appropriately [34].…”

“…There are nearly one hundred thousand OTC medications available and like prescription medication, safe OTC medication use is heavily dependent on a consumer's ability to understand and use the medication appropriately [34]. However, OTC medication is somewhat different because it does not require a doctor's approval and places more of the decision-making task on the consumer [1]. Thousands of hospitalizations and fatalities occur each year due to adverse drug events (ADEs) caused by medication [1,24,11,17].…”

“…However, OTC medication is somewhat different because it does not require a doctor's approval and places more of the decision-making task on the consumer [1]. Thousands of hospitalizations and fatalities occur each year due to adverse drug events (ADEs) caused by medication [1,24,11,17]. However, consumers often view OTC medication differently than prescription medication and generally perceive them as less of a risk [11].…”

“…However, consumers often view OTC medication differently than prescription medication and generally perceive them as less of a risk [11]. When reading OTC medication instructions consumers may often misunderstand the information, which further contributes to the large number of adverse drug events occurring each year [1,11,17]. Therefore, consumers need sufficient health-related knowledge to lessen their risk of potentially fatal events due to medication.…”