Results of a National Survey on OTC Medicines, Part 2: Do Pharmacists Support Switching Prescription Agents to Over-the-Counter Status?

Canadian pharmacists' views on an OTC switch for simvastatin seem to differ from pharmacists in the UK; pharmacists there were more in agreement with a switch. Just after the switch in Great Britain (2004), a survey of 100 community pharmacists revealed that 40% agreed with the deregulation, 36% were unsure and 24% disagreed.6 However, as in our survey, UK pharmacists were more inclined to consider omeprazole as a welcome OTC addition.7 Omeprazole is indicated for self-medication for short-term (14 days) treatment and symptomatic relief of frequent (2 or more days a week) heartburn.8 In contrast, simvastatin should only be used on a long-term basis. With simvastatin, UK pharmacists had concerns regarding cardiovascular risk assessment, adverse drug reactions and likelihood of patients not committing to therapy.7 A few years after the switch of simvastatin, the majority of primary care physicians still did not support the supply of OTC simvastatin by community pharmacists. 9 They were particularly concerned by the lack of cholesterol and blood pressure data in cardiovascular disease risk assessment prior to sale. In a recent US survey, community pharmacists indicated highest support for an OTC switch for selected agents within smoking cessation therapy (85%), nasal corticosteroids for allergies (81%) and vaccines (75%). However, they were much less supportive of a switch for statins (42%) and antihypertensives (38%).10