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General practitioner prescribing and community pharmacist recommendation for the sale of aciclovir topical cream

A questionnaire survey of 50 general medical practitioners (GPs) and 50 community pharmacists in Bristol was undertaken to compare GPs' prescribing behaviour and the recommendations of community pharmacists for the sale of aciclovir topical cream. The participants' stated advice about prescribing or recommending the sale of aciclovir topical cream for a series of case studies illustrated by colour photographs was examined. In only one of the nine cases was a significant difference found between prescribing/recommendation of aciclovir cream, with pharmacists being more prepared than the GPs to recommend the cream for a cold sore at the scabbing stage. Pharmacists reported receiving a greater amount of information about the drug from the manufacturer than did the GPs. Some GPs were shown to be confused about the licensing laws regulating the over‐the‐counter sale of aciclovir cream. This is likely to lead to inappropriate advice from GPs for patients to visit community pharmacists for the purchase of the cream.