title: Drug dispensing practices at pharmacies in Bengaluru: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pharmacists are one of the crucial focal points for health care in the community. They have tremendous outreach to the public as pharmacies are often the first-port-of-call. With the increase of ready-to-use drugs, the main health-related activity of a pharmacist today is to assure the quality of dispensing, a key element to promote rational medicine use.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study of 200 pharmacies, 100 each in various residential (R) and commercial (C) areas of Bengaluru, was conducted using a prevalidated questionnaire administered to the chief pharmacist or the person-in-charge by the investigators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dispensing without prescription at pharmacies was 45% of the total dispensing encounters and significantly higher (χ2= 15.2,P< 0.001, df = 1) in pharmacies of residential areas (46.64%) as compared to commercial areas (43.64%). Analgesics were the most commonly dispensed drugs (90%) without prescription. Only 31% insisted on dispensing full course of antibiotics prescribed and 19% checked for completeness of prescription before dispensing. Although 97% of the pharmacies had a refrigerator, 31% of these did not have power back-up. Only about 50% of the pharmacists were aware of Schedule H.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows a high proportion of dispensing encounters without prescription, a higher rate of older prescription refills, many irregularities in medication counseling and unsatisfactory storage practices. It also revealed that about half of the pharmacists were unaware of Schedule H and majority of them about current regulations. Hence, regulatory enforcement and educational campaigns are a prerequisite to improve dispenser's knowledge and dispensing practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Soumya
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Vijayalakshmi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Devarashetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jayanthi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Fort, Kalasipalyam, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sushma
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000600:supply & distribution / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004356:Drug Storage; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D055553:Prescription Drugs
keywords: Antibiotics; drug dispensing practices; knowledge; medication counseling; storage practices