| RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 48
| Issue : 4 | Page : 360-364 |
Drug dispensing practices at pharmacies in Bengaluru: A cross-sectional study
R Soumya, Vijayalakshmi Devarashetty, CR Jayanthi, M Sushma
Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
R Soumya
Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.186204
Objectives: Pharmacists are one of the crucial focal points for health care in the community. They have tremendous outreach to the public as pharmacies are often the first-port-of-call. With the increase of ready-to-use drugs, the main health-related activity of a pharmacist today is to assure the quality of dispensing, a key element to promote rational medicine use.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 200 pharmacies, 100 each in various residential (R) and commercial (C) areas of Bengaluru, was conducted using a prevalidated questionnaire administered to the chief pharmacist or the person-in-charge by the investigators.
Results: Dispensing without prescription at pharmacies was 45% of the total dispensing encounters and significantly higher (c2 = 15.2, P< 0.001, df = 1) in pharmacies of residential areas (46.64%) as compared to commercial areas (43.64%). Analgesics were the most commonly dispensed drugs (90%) without prescription. Only 31% insisted on dispensing full course of antibiotics prescribed and 19% checked for completeness of prescription before dispensing. Although 97% of the pharmacies had a refrigerator, 31% of these did not have power back-up. Only about 50% of the pharmacists were aware of Schedule H.
Conclusion: This study shows a high proportion of dispensing encounters without prescription, a higher rate of older prescription refills, many irregularities in medication counseling and unsatisfactory storage practices. It also revealed that about half of the pharmacists were unaware of Schedule H and majority of them about current regulations. Hence, regulatory enforcement and educational campaigns are a prerequisite to improve dispenser's knowledge and dispensing practices.
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