title: Utilisation of community pharmacists by the general public in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study was conducted to assess how the general public in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, utilised community pharmacists.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective observational study which documented interactions between community pharmacists and their customers. A researcher was stationed in 10 participating community pharmacies around the Klang Valley to observe and record all the interactions, using a structured data-collection form. KEYS FINDINGS: Interactions between 1914 customers and the pharmacists of the 10 community pharmacies were recorded. A total of 2199 requests were made by these customers. The main types of request were for medications by brand name (32.2%), advice on minor health problems (25.9%) and for health supplements (11.7%). Only 65 prescriptions were received by the community pharmacies; that is, fewer than two prescriptions per pharmacy per day. The pharmacists provided counselling for only 54.4% of the requests where a medication or health supplement was dispensed. Counselling by pharmacist was significantly associated with the type of request (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main reason for the general public to visit a community pharmacy in Malaysia was to purchase a particular medication. Few prescriptions were filled at community pharmacies in Malaysia, indicating the under-utilisation of community pharmacists as a safety net for prescribed medications in primary care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. chuass@um.edu.my
authors.forename: Siew Siang
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Kien Ping
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Hong Gee
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role; D011446:Prospective Studies