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Results of a National Survey on OTC Medicines, Part 3: Perceived Time Expectations for Clinical Encounters Associated with Over-the-Counter Medicines

Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are an important component of primary health care. Since Schedule II medications can only be purchased in pharmacies, pharmacists can and should have an important role in the recommendation and proper use of these agents. Accordingly, we have conducted a large national survey of pharmacists' views on OTC medications. The first article in this series described pharmacists' opinions on the scheduling of various nonprescription medications. 1 The second article described pharmacists' opinions on switching of products from Schedule I (prescription only) to OTC Schedule II status.2 In this paper we explore pharmacist-patient contact time. Pharmacists' perceptions of patient expectations for consultation time may serve as an important basis for the development of practical interventions relating to OTC use. Accordingly, we asked pharmacists' opinions on patient expectations regarding this issue for a number of OTC agents.