Nature and adequacy of information on dispensed medications delivered to patients in community pharmacies: a pilot study from Penang, Malaysia

Objectives To determine the types and adequacy of information on dispensed medications given to consumers by community pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, and to compare this between the two categories of personnel in the community setting. Methods Using a simulated client method, a total of 128 community pharmacies in the State of Penang, Malaysia, were visited. Medications were dispensed by the community pharmacy personnel upon presentation of hypothetical common-cold symptoms by the simulated client. The types of information delivered over the counter by the community pharmacy staff were documented and evaluated. A total score was given to determine the adequacy of information given. Key findings Findings from the study revealed that there were no significant differences between pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in the delivery of information to the simulated client for the dispensed medications, except for information on indications of medication (25 compared with 5.3%; P = 0.001) and duration of drug therapy (7.7 compared with 0%; P = 0.014). None of the community personnel provided medication-related information that was deemed 'adequate' within the definitions of the analysis. Most community pharmacy personnel delivered the medication-related information in less than 1 min. Conclusions Most of the community pharmacies surveyed did not provide adequate information to patients on medication use during the dispensing process. In view of the short duration of information delivery, the extent of the information delivered to patients was limited and its adequacy could not be guaranteed.