Pharmacy Times 2008 OTC Products - (Page 10) M M AC IS T REC O M M AC IS T REC O M M OTCs Pharmacists Recommend EN EN PH AR PH AR D ED D ED ar Ac w h ie vem e n t A Ac Adult Expectorant M w h ie vem e n t A ar M PH AR PH AR d ar Number of pharmacist recommendations per month: 1,866,060 ar d 20 20 20 d 8 8 d 0 0 0 Adult Cold—Liquid Product % Pharm Recs Product % Pharm Recs AC IS T REC O M Product M Mucinex Robitussin Diabetic Tussin 8 w 8 Ac w Ac h ie vem e n t A h ie vem e n t A Humibid Other D ED 20 I AC ST REC O M M % of Pharmacist Recommendations Product J&J Band-Aid Nexcare Curad Other Number of pharmacist recommendations per month: 583,380 continued from page 8 Figuring Out What to Recommend Both Drs. Bazzi and Scalise-Manoni said that the first thing they try to determine before recommending any OTC medication is what symptoms are going to be treated. They also ask about other medications the patient is currently taking and, when the patient is a regular, check their pharmacy records for possible interactions and allergies. The pharmacists also consider cost. Dr. ScaliseManoni said, “I always take cost effectiveness into account. When there is no difference between the store brand and the name brand, I will ask patients to consider the store brand.” She added, however, that when she hears back from patients Log On: F O R A L L Y O U R P H A R M A C Y C A R E E R N E E D S ! http://careers.PharmacyTimes.com OTC Supplement 2008 10 Pharmacy Times EN 67.5 25.2 2.6 0.7 4.0 Robitussin NyQuil DayQuil TheraFlu Tylenol 46.4 11.7 9.5 8.9 7.3 Dimetapp Zicam Cold & Flu Spoon Vicks 44 Other 6.1 3.4 2.2 4.5 EN D ED Adhesive Bandages % of Pharmacist Recommendations Product Patients’ Needs Guide OTC Recommendations that a generic does not work as well as its branded equivalent, she recommends the brand. “Cost is a concern, but what really counts is that a medication makes patients feel better,” she said. Dr. Bazzi takes a slightly different approach to cost considerations. When multiple options exist, such as with combination cough and cold treatments, she will go over the benefits and possible risks of the different combinations and then mention what the products cost. “I always try to follow up with patients who buy OTCs, though, to make sure that whatever they chose worked for them.” PT 0 Number of pharmacist recommendations per month: 1,801,800 Adult Cold—Long Acting % Pharm Recs Product % Pharm Recs 59.0 18.1 12.5 10.4 Mucinex Claritin Delsym Tylenol Cold Sudafed Coricidin HBP 27.9 22.9 15.6 7.3 4.5 3.4 Drixoral Aleve Actifed Advil Alavert Dimetapp Other 2.8 2.2 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 6.6 Number of pharmacist recommendations per month: 1,918,980 8 For a list of references, go to: www.PharmacyTimes.com. http://www.PharmacyTimes.com http://careers.PharmacyTimes.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.