BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES OF MEDICATION LABEL WRITINGACCORDING TO THE GOOD PHARMACY PRACTICE OF NORTHERN COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This research aimed to survey the completeness of information on medicine pouches, medication labelling behaviors and attitudes of community pharmacists in the northern of Thailand toward the information of drug labelling following the good pharmacy practice (GPP). The data were collected using a questionnaire sent by mail. The subjects were 279 community pharmacies (type I) located in 8 provinces of northern Thailand. Forty-nine questionnaires (17.6%) were analyzed. The study found that no drugstore showed complete information on the medicine pouches according to GPP. The most displayed information covered drug use directions (49, 100%); drug indications (46, 93.9%) and drug precautions (44, 89.9%). No respondent could write a complete medicine label. The information mostly written on drug label included drug use directions (37, 75.5%); drug indications (33, 67.3%) and the name, address and telephone number of the drug store (29, 59.2%). On the other hand, the respondents have not written the following information on the labels: pharmacist signature (38, 77.6%); patient’s name (30, 61.2%) and date of drug dispensing (23, 46.9%). A study of attitude of community pharmacists toward medicine labels found that the most important information consisted of drug use directions (4.92 ± 0.27), drug indications (4.80 ± 0.46) and drug precautions (4.57 ± 0.68). The respondents indicated that the less important information on drug pouches included pharmacists' signature (2.55 ± 1.14); the patients' name (2.82 ± 1.19), and the amount of drug dispensed (3.02 ± 1.18). It can be concluded that almost every drug stores failed to display complete important information, and the community pharmacists did not entirely label the medicine pouches according to GPP. The attitudes of community pharmacists towards the information on drug labels had low level in some areas.