Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8322

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Skutnik S, Katsanis LP.
Impact of initial noncompliance in Canadian retail pharmacies: descriptive examination
Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing Management 1997; 11:(4):35-54

Abstract:

To examine the characteristics of unclaimed prescriptions in retail pharmacy outlets in a major metropolitan city and to determine whether the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists, and physicians can play a role in the area of initial noncompliance, a descriptive study was conducted in 9 retail pharmacies belonging to the same corporate chain; an inventory of prepared and unclaimed prescriptions was surveyed 1 pharmacy at a time at random over a 4 wk period. Data was collected on a total of 254 unclaimed prescriptions. The average age of an unclaimed prescription was 39.4 days. The most noticeable group of unclaimed prescriptions were new verbals (32.6%), followed by renewed written prescriptions (27.2%) and new written prescriptions (20%). The majority of unclaimed prescriptions were for drugs taken more than once a day, the most common being cardiac drugs (13%), dermatologicals (11%), antibiotics (10%), hormones (10%), and respiratory drugs (9%). A higher proportion of the unclaimed prescriptions were for females (64.2%) vs males (35.8%) and the average age of the patients for whom the prescriptions were prepared was 44.5 yr. Almost one-quarter (23%) of the unclaimed prescriptions were paid for by a government program. It was concluded that a reminder, along with patient counseling by physicians, can be an effective tool for increasing patient compliance.