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Healthy Skepticism Library item: 9748

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

Becker D, Garcia SG, Ellertson C.
Do Mexico City pharmacy workers screen women for health risks when they sell oral contraceptive pills over-the-counter?
Contraception 2004 Apr; 69:(4):295-9
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0010782403003275


Abstract:

CONTEXT: In Mexico, oral contraceptives (OCs) are available to women over-the-counter in pharmacies. While past research has suggested that nonmedical providers, such as pharmacy workers, are capable of screening women for contraindications to OCs, little is known about their practices. METHODS: After selecting a 10% random sample of all pharmacies in Mexico City (n = 108), we surveyed the first available pharmacy worker to learn more about pharmacy workers’ screening practices when selling OCs over-the-counter to women. RESULTS: While nearly all of the pharmacy workers surveyed had sold OCs without a prescription, only 31% reported asking women any questions before selling pills. Among those who asked questions, the most commonly asked questions were about other medications a woman was taking, about blood pressure and about alcohol intake. Pharmacy workers did not ask these questions consistently to all clients. CONCLUSION: Training pharmacy workers might be one strategy to improve screening of women for pill contraindications. However, pharmacy workers may lack the time and motivation to carry out such screening. An alternative strategy might be to better inform women to self-screen for pill contraindications.

Keywords:
Adolescent Adult Contraceptives, Oral, Combined/contraindications Contraceptives, Oral, Combined/supply & distribution* Drugs, Non-Prescription/contraindications Drugs, Non-Prescription/supply & distribution* Female Humans Mass Screening/utilization* Mexico/epidemiology Middle Aged Pharmaceutical Services/standards* Pharmaceutical Services/statistics & numerical data Physician's Practice Patterns/statistics & numerical data* Women's Health

 

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...to influence multinational corporations effectively, the efforts of governments will have to be complemented by others, notably the many voluntary organisations that have shown they can effectively represent society’s public-health interests…
A small group known as Healthy Skepticism; formerly the Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing) has consistently and insistently drawn the attention of producers to promotional malpractice, calling for (and often securing) correction. These organisations [Healthy Skepticism, Médecins Sans Frontières and Health Action International] are small, but they are capable; they bear malice towards no one, and they are inscrutably honest. If industry is indeed persuaded to face up to its social responsibilities in the coming years it may well be because of these associations and others like them.
- Dukes MN. Accountability of the pharmaceutical industry. Lancet. 2002 Nov 23; 360(9346)1682-4.