title: Free antibiotic and vaccination programmes in community pharmacies of Miami-Dade County, FL, USA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Some community pharmacies provide prescribed oral antibiotics for free to incentivize customers. This can influence prescribing practices and may increase inappropriate antibiotic use. Thus, pleas to incorporate education and/or vaccinations into these initiatives have been made by the CDC and IDSA. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of free antibiotic programmes (FAPs) and free vaccination programmes (FVPs) offered by community pharmacies within a major US county. Additionally, we evaluated the association between FAP location and proximate socioeconomic status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A telephone survey was administered to all community pharmacies in operation and located in Miami-Dade County, FL, USA (n=668). Population characteristics at the five-digit ZIP code level were acquired from the 2010 US Census and American Communities Survey. An independent t-test, Kruskal-Wallis and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 660 community pharmacies agreed to the telephone survey (response rate=98.8%). FAPs were present in 6.8% of pharmacies (n=45) and none incorporated an educational component targeted at patients or prescribers. Ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin were offered by all FAPs and 84.4% provided up to a 14 day supply (n=38). Thirty-four of 72 ZIP codes had an FAP and those with a programme had larger populations and higher incomes (P≤0.05). Family income≥$75,000 (P=0.0002) was an independent predictor of FAP availability. None of the surveyed pharmacies offered a FVP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frequently provided by chain pharmacies and located in areas of higher income, FAPs within Miami-Dade County offer broad-spectrum antibiotics for long durations without additional education to patients or prescribers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy, 3200 South University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA tg517@nova.edu timothy.gauthier@jhsmiami.org.
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.affiliation: Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare, Department of Veterans Affairs and University of Illinois at Chicago, 5000 S. 5th Avenue, 151H, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Katie J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Medicine, Georgia Regents University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Sunil Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mathur
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, 3200 South University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harriman
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, 3200 South University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Jackson Memorial Hospital, 1611 N.W. 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aragon
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 N.W. 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Lilian M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Abbo
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 N.W. 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hooton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002648:Child; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010594:Pharmacies; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014611:Vaccination; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: appropriate drug use; pharmacy services; socioeconomic