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Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach

BACKGROUND: In Germany, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for self-medication may only be dispensed by community pharmacies (CPs). From the customer’s point of view, “adequate” counseling includes not only the recommendation of medicines that meet guidelines, but also the dispensing of low-priced med...

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Autores principales: Kunow, Christian, Langer, Bernhard
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8476173/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34588789
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S320728
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author Kunow, Christian
Langer, Bernhard
author_facet Kunow, Christian
Langer, Bernhard
author_sort Kunow, Christian
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: In Germany, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for self-medication may only be dispensed by community pharmacies (CPs). From the customer’s point of view, “adequate” counseling includes not only the recommendation of medicines that meet guidelines, but also the dispensing of low-priced medicines. This is all the more important in Germany against the background of free pricing and a lack of obligation to display prices. The aim was to analyze the dispensing and possible price variability of OTC medicines for headache. METHODS: The cross-sectional design of the study based on the simulated patient methodology (SPM) included all 42 CPs of the German big city Potsdam and used eight trained simulated patients (SPs). Between October and December 2020, four different SPs visited each CP four times with two almost identical scenarios with the demand for a medicine for headache. RESULTS: All 168 planned visits were successfully completed and ibuprofen (60.1%) was dispensed most frequently. Across all dispensed medicines, prices varied from €0.93 to €9.97 (∆ 972%; median €3.46 [interquartile range (IQR) €2.25]). For repeated dispensing of the same CPs, the price variability was a maximum of €8.77. In addition, packs with ≤10 tablets were dispensed in 47.6%, with 11 to 20 tablets in 50.6%, and with >20 tablets in 1.8% of visits. CONCLUSION: Increasing price transparency and strengthening price competition could make it easier for customers to access OTC medicines according to their personal needs.
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spelling pubmed-84761732021-09-28 Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach Kunow, Christian Langer, Bernhard Clinicoecon Outcomes Res Original Research BACKGROUND: In Germany, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for self-medication may only be dispensed by community pharmacies (CPs). From the customer’s point of view, “adequate” counseling includes not only the recommendation of medicines that meet guidelines, but also the dispensing of low-priced medicines. This is all the more important in Germany against the background of free pricing and a lack of obligation to display prices. The aim was to analyze the dispensing and possible price variability of OTC medicines for headache. METHODS: The cross-sectional design of the study based on the simulated patient methodology (SPM) included all 42 CPs of the German big city Potsdam and used eight trained simulated patients (SPs). Between October and December 2020, four different SPs visited each CP four times with two almost identical scenarios with the demand for a medicine for headache. RESULTS: All 168 planned visits were successfully completed and ibuprofen (60.1%) was dispensed most frequently. Across all dispensed medicines, prices varied from €0.93 to €9.97 (∆ 972%; median €3.46 [interquartile range (IQR) €2.25]). For repeated dispensing of the same CPs, the price variability was a maximum of €8.77. In addition, packs with ≤10 tablets were dispensed in 47.6%, with 11 to 20 tablets in 50.6%, and with >20 tablets in 1.8% of visits. CONCLUSION: Increasing price transparency and strengthening price competition could make it easier for customers to access OTC medicines according to their personal needs. Dove 2021-09-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8476173/ /pubmed/34588789 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S320728 Text en © 2021 Kunow and Langer. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) ). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).
spellingShingle Original Research
Kunow, Christian
Langer, Bernhard
Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title_full Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title_fullStr Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title_full_unstemmed Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title_short Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach
title_sort dispensing and variabilities in pricing of headache otc medicines by community pharmacies in a german big city: a simulated patient approach
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8476173/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34588789
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S320728
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