Availability of over-the-counter drugs for arthritis in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Marcos Bosi Ferraz, Ronaldo Borges Pereira, Jose Gerardo A Paiva, Edgard Atra and Jose Quirino Dos Santos

Social Science & Medicine, 1996, vol. 42, issue 8, 1129-1131

Abstract: Seventy pharmacies located in Sao Paulo were randomly selected and visited. Seven researchers posed as ordinary clients presenting with a standardized complaint of symptoms according to a scenario previously defined. The client asked for medicines to relieve his/her pain or discomfort. After the seller's suggestion the client asked for 2 drugs randomly selected from a drug list containing 30 trademarked drugs commonly prescribed to arthritis patients. These drugs should be available only on prescription. In only 12.8% of the pharmacies did the seller initially suggest the client see a physician. The sellers 'prescribed' non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), vitamins, analgesics (AN) and corticosteroids (CO) in respectively 42.8, 20.0, 14.3 and 5.7% of the visits. From the drug list, the client secured 67.7% of the NSAID, 65.0% of the CO and 20.0% of the sedatives without presenting a prescription. Pharmacy sellers usually comply with the clients demands. Future studies should aim at the evaluation of interventions to reduce the availability of the over-the-counter drugs for arthritis.

Keywords: pharmacy; drug; utilization; arthritis; developing; country; drug; therapy; analgesics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
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