Counselling with a focus on product and price transparency for over-the-counter headache medicines: A simulated patient study in community pharmacies in Munich, Germany

IF 1.9 4区医学 Q3 HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES International Journal of Health Planning and Management Pub Date : 2024-06-24 DOI:10.1002/hpm.3817

Bernhard Langer, Christian Kunow, Josephine Bolduan, Lea Sackmann, Laura Schreiter, Katja Schüler, Marie Ulrich

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Abstract

Background

In Germany, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines may only be dispensed by community pharmacies (CPs). German CPs must ensure ‘adequate’ counselling, including the cost of medicines. Along with information gathering and advice giving as classic aspects of counselling, the aim was also to investigate counselling indicators of product and price transparency.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was based on the covert simulated patient (SP) methodology and was conducted in a random sample of CPs stratified by districts in the major German city of Munich. Each of the 178 selected CPs was visited once by one of five trained female students. They simulated a symptom-based sub-scenario 1 with a request for an OTC medicine for a headache and a sub-scenario 2 with standardised information regarding product and price transparency. The assessment, completed immediately postvisit by the SPs, included a total of 23 items.

Results

All 178 scheduled visits were completed successfully. The median counselling score with the classic items was 3.0 out of 12 points (interquartile range [IQR] 4.25) and when expanded by items for product and price transparency the score was 4.0 out of 14 points (IQR 4.00). A selection of medicines was offered unsolicited in 38.2% of the visits and in 5.6% of the visits voluntary price information was provided before the transaction. A request for a cheaper medicine led to a significant price reduction (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p < 0.001, r = 0.869).

Conclusion

Due to the below-average level of counselling, the regional chambers of pharmacists are recommended to initiate measures for improvement. There is also potential for optimisation with regard to product and price transparency as an important extension of the classic counselling aspects. It is therefore recommended that the government raise customers' awareness of the cost of medicines.

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以头痛非处方药的产品和价格透明度为重点的咨询：德国慕尼黑社区药房模拟患者研究。

背景：在德国，非处方药 (OTC) 只能由社区药房 (CP) 配发。德国社区药房必须确保提供 "充分 "的咨询服务，包括药品费用。除了收集信息和提供建议这些咨询的传统方面外，研究还旨在调查产品和价格透明度方面的咨询指标：这项横断面研究基于隐蔽模拟病人 (SP) 方法，在德国大城市慕尼黑按地区分层随机抽样的 CPs 中进行。五名训练有素的女学生中的一人访问了 178 家选定的 CPs。她们模拟了基于症状的子情景 1 和子情景 2，子情景 1 是要求购买治疗头痛的非处方药，子情景 2 是关于产品和价格透明度的标准化信息。评估由 SP 在访问后立即完成，共包括 23 个项目：所有 178 次预定访问均顺利完成。传统项目的咨询得分中位数为 3.0 分（满分 12 分，四分位数间距 [IQR] 为 4.25），如果增加产品和价格透明度项目，得分中位数为 4.0 分（满分 14 分，四分位数间距 [IQR] 为 4.00）。在 38.2% 的访问中，药品选择是主动提供的，在 5.6% 的访问中，在交易前自愿提供了价格信息。要求购买更便宜的药品会导致明显的降价（Wilcoxon 符号秩检验；P 结论）：由于咨询水平低于平均水平，建议地区药剂师协会采取措施加以改进。作为传统咨询的重要延伸，产品和价格透明度也有优化的潜力。因此，建议政府提高顾客对药品成本的认识。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Health Planning and Management Multiple-

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

3.70%

发文量

197

期刊介绍： Policy making and implementation, planning and management are widely recognized as central to effective health systems and services and to better health. Globalization, and the economic circumstances facing groups of countries worldwide, meanwhile present a great challenge for health planning and management. The aim of this quarterly journal is to offer a forum for publications which direct attention to major issues in health policy, planning and management. The intention is to maintain a balance between theory and practice, from a variety of disciplines, fields and perspectives. The Journal is explicitly international and multidisciplinary in scope and appeal: articles about policy, planning and management in countries at various stages of political, social, cultural and economic development are welcomed, as are those directed at the different levels (national, regional, local) of the health sector. Manuscripts are invited from a spectrum of different disciplines e.g., (the social sciences, management and medicine) as long as they advance our knowledge and understanding of the health sector. The Journal is therefore global, and eclectic.