Characterization of the nature and the direct financial costs of self-medication

Authors

  • Francisco Batel Marques Doutor em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Especialidade de Farmácia Clínica, Professor Auxiliar, Laboratório de Farmacologia Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbra;
  • Nuno Cobrado Licenciado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Investigador Bolseiro (Bolsa Novartis Consumer Health em Prática de Farmácia Laboratório de Farmacologia, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbra;
  • Margarida Caramona Doutora em Farmácia, Especialidade de Farmacologia, Professora Catedrática Laboratório de Farmacologia, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbra.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v16i1.9778

Keywords:

Self-medication, Economics and pharmacy, Community pharmaceutical services

Abstract

Objective: To characterise the nature (requesting for brand names vs. presentation of symptoms) and the direct financial costs of self-medication, according to environment (urban or rural) and the medicines legal dispensing status. Type of study: Multicentre, cross-sectional. Setting: 21 pharmacies (of which 10 in urban areas) in the territory of the Central Portugal Regional Health Authority. Methods: Between July and August 1996, and for one working day per pharmacy, the reasons for pharmacy attendance were characterised by a validated protocol. Results and Discussion: Self-medication accounted for 31.6% of pharmaceutical encounters. This was mainly the patients pro-action by requesting brand for treating self-valued symptoms. No differences were seen in the nature of self-medication according to type of environment (p>0.05). Direct financial cost structure was always lower in the rural environment (p<0.05) for all types of breakdown analyses. Of the packages dispensed for self-medication, 34.4% were prescription-only medicines. This percentage was lower when self medication took place through symptom presentation. By revealing that a relevant impact of self-medication on reasons for pharmacy attendance (31.6%) was associated with low direct financial costs, this study calls for other assessments of the risk-benefit ratio of self-medication and of the cost-effectiveness ratio of pharmaceutical intervention.

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Published

2000-01-01

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2000): Revista Portuguesa de Clínica Geral

Section

Original Research

License

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How to Cite

Characterization of the nature and the direct financial costs of self-medication. (2000). Portuguese Journal of Family Medicine and General Practice, 16(1), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v16i1.9778