title: Understanding the role of the healthcare professional in patient self-management of allergic rhinitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Allergic rhinitis is a common, usually long-standing, condition that may be self-diagnosed or have a formal diagnosis. Our aim was to identify how allergic rhinitis sufferers self-manage their condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 276 self-identified adult allergy sufferers pooled from social media completed an online survey comprising 13 questions. The survey was fielded by a professional research organization (Lab42). The main outcome measures included the use of prescription and/or non-prescription allergy medication, and interactions with physician and/or pharmacist with respect to medication use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the respondents, 53% (146/276) indicated that they used both prescription and over-the-counter medication to manage their allergy symptoms. Of those who used prescription medication, 53% reported that they discussed their prescription medication in great detail with their physician when it was prescribed, while 42% spoke about it briefly. Following the initial prescription, few discussions about the prescription occur with the physician (45% indicate several discussions, 40% indicate one or two discussions, and 10% indicate no discussions). In most cases (~75% of the time), allergy prescription refills did not require a doctor visit with patients obtaining refills through phone calls to the doctor's office or through the pharmacy. Two-thirds of patients (69%) report that they have discussed their prescription allergy medication with a pharmacist, with greater than half of respondents having discussed the use of the non-prescription medication with their doctor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with diagnosed allergic rhinitis appear to be self-managing their condition with few interactions with their doctor about their allergy prescription. Interactions with a pharmacist about allergy medication (prescription and non-prescription) appear to be more common than interactions with a physician.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Insights Consulting Group Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Bonnie L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Kuehl
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Shahad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdulnour
authors.affiliation: Truman Medical Centre, Kansas City, MO, USA; Department of Community & Family Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Dell
authors.affiliation: ConscienHealth, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Theodore K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Kyle
keywords: Allergy; interactions; non-prescription; pharmacist; prescription; psychosocial