CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 106Pharmacy and Medical PracticesPharmaceutical Economics and PolicyPharmaceutical industry and healthcare

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Over-the-counter medicines: Global perspective and Indian scenario

Open access
Marathe, PA, Kamat, SK, Tripathi, RK, Raut, SB, Khatri, NP·2020·Journal of Postgraduate Medicine
DOI 10.4103/jpgm.jpgm_381_19PMC PMC6970327
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Patients often approach a pharmacist instead of visiting a doctor for minor ailments such as cough, cold, allergies, pain, fever, acidity, diarrhea, and skin-related conditions. Purchase of specific medicines over the counter is legally recognized in most countries. 'Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicines' means drugs which are legally allowed to be sold by pharmacists without need for a prescription. The term does not have a legal definition in India. Technically, drugs are OTC unless they are specifically stated as prescription only drugs. OTC drugs allow faster and cheaper access to healthcare; however, their misuse and adverse health effects cause concerns. This article describes concept of OTC medicines and practices in India against the background of globally prevalent regulations and practices. A recognized category of OTC medicines by law, patient awareness programs, and support of pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies are required to optimize the use of OTC medicines in India.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.4103/jpgm.jpgm_381_19

Cites

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

No references could be resolved yet.

Research works printed but not linked: 42

  1. Kebodeaux, 2019, Prescription and over-the-counter medication record integration: A holistic patient-centered approach, J Am Pharm Assoc, 59, S13, 10.1016/j.japh.2018.10.002 · DOI
  2. Sansgiry, 2016, Abuse of over-the-counter medicines: A pharmacist's perspective, Integr Pharm Res Pract, 6, 1
  3. Thomas, 2014, Assessment of OTC drug labels for patient information in community pharmacies in Thiruvananthapuram city, Int J Innov Pharm Sci Res, 2, 1034
  4. Gupta, 2013, Emerging Indian OTC markets, AJMST, 1, 24
  5. Chang, 2016, Prescription to over-the-counter switches in the United States, J Res Pharm Pract, 5, 149, 10.4103/2279-042X.185706 · DOI
  6. Kartha, 2017, Switching drugs from Rx to OTC status-A regulatory perspective, J Young Pharm, 9, 3
  7. Sood, 2012, Behind-the-counter statins: A silver bullet for reducing costs and increasing access?, Health Serv Res, 47, 174, 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01315.x · DOI
  8. Barrenberg, 2017, From prescription-only (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) status in Germany 2006–2015: Pharmacological perspectives on regulatory decisions, Eur J Clin Pharmacol, 73, 901, 10.1007/s00228-017-2240-4 · DOI
  9. McKenney, 2004, The National Lipid Association surveys of consumers, physicians, and pharmacists regarding an over-the-counter statin in the United States: Is this a good idea?, Am J Cardiol, 94, 16, 10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.07.050 · DOI
  10. 2005, ASHP statement on the over-the-counter availability of statins, Am J Health Syst Pharm, 62, 2420, 10.2146/ajhp050342 · DOI
  11. Hayashi, 2015, Key information providers, channels, and characteristics of Japanese consumers' informed choices of over-the-counter medications, Springerplus, 4, 737., 10.1186/s40064-015-1549-7 · DOI
  12. Emmerton, 2009, The 'third class' of medications: Sales and purchasing behaviour are associated with pharmacist only and pharmacy medicine classifications in Australia, J Am Pharm Assoc, 49, 31, 10.1331/JAPhA.2009.07117 · DOI
  13. Shet, 2015, Pharmacy-based dispensing of antimicrobial agents without prescription in India: Appropriateness and cost burden in the private sector, Antimicrob Resist Infect Control, 4, 55., 10.1186/s13756-015-0098-8 · DOI
  14. Phalke, 2006, Self-medication practices in rural Maharashtra, Indian J Community Med, 31, 34, 10.4103/0970-0218.54933 · DOI
  15. Dutta, 2017, Self-medication practices versus health of the community, Int J Community Med Public Health, 4, 2757, 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173169 · DOI
  16. Kumar, 2015, Prevalence and pattern of self-medication practices in an urban area of Delhi, India, Med J DY Patil Vidyapeeth, 8, 16, 10.4103/0975-2870.148828 · DOI
  17. Panda, 2017, Predictors of over-the-counter medication: A cross-sectional Indian study, Perspect Clin Res, 8, 79, 10.4103/2229-3485.203043 · DOI
  18. Ravichandran, 2016, Perception of pharmacists regarding over-the-counter medication: A survey, Indian J Pharmacol, 48, 729, 10.4103/0253-7613.194857 · DOI
  19. Shankar, 2002, Self-medication and non-doctor prescription practices in Pokhara valley, Western Nepal: A questionnaire-based study, BMC Fam Pract, 3, 17., 10.1186/1471-2296-3-17 · DOI
  20. Nagaraj, 2015, A study on the dispensing pattern of over the counter drugs in retail pharmacies in Sarjapur area, East Bangalore, J Clin Diagn Res, 9, 11
  21. Wazaify, 2005, Societal perspectives on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, Fam Pract, 22, 170, 10.1093/fampra/cmh723 · DOI
  22. 2010, White paper on the benefits of using OTC medicines in the United States. Report of the consumer healthcare products association's clinical/medical committee, Pharm Today, 68
  23. Deo, 2013, “Doctor population ratio for India - The reality, ” Indian J Med Res, 137, 632
  24. Kennedy, 1996, Over the counter drugs, BMJ, 312, 593, 10.1136/bmj.312.7031.593 · DOI
  25. Gonzales, 2011, Prescription and over-the-counter drug treatment admissions to the California public treatment system, J Subst Abuse Treat, 40, 224, 10.1016/j.jsat.2010.11.003 · DOI
  26. Frei, 2010, Serious morbidity associated with misuse of over-the-counter codeine-ibuprofen analgesics: A series of 27 cases, Med J Aust, 193, 294, 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03911.x · DOI
  27. Leos-Toro, 2015, A cross-sectional examination of medicinal substance abuse and use of nonmedicinal substances among Canadian youth: Findings from the 2012-2013 youth smoking survey, CMAJ Open, 3, E387, 10.9778/cmajo.20140094 · DOI
  28. Shefrin, 2009, Use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications in children, Can Fam Physician, 55, 1081
  29. Shankar, 2016, Labeling of OTC drugs in India: Dilemma whether pharmacy centred or patient centred, Indian J Pharm Pract, 9, 199, 10.5530/ijopp.9.3.12 · DOI
  30. Salunkhe, 2013, Study of over the counter sale of antimicrobials in pharmacy outlets in Pune, India: A cross sectional study, Int J Pharma Bio Sci, 4, 616
  31. Michael, 2014, The antibiotic resistance crises: Causes, consequences, and management, Front Public Health, 2, 145., 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00145 · DOI
  32. Huges, 2002, Patients' knowledge and perceptions of the side-effects of OTC medication, J Clin Pharm Ther, 27, 243, 10.1046/j.1365-2710.2002.00416.x · DOI
  33. MacKinnon, 2016, Tighter regulations needed for over-the-counter codeine in Canada, Can Pharm J (Ott), 149, 322, 10.1177/1715163516660572 · DOI
  34. Wolfe, 2002, Direct-to-consumer advertising-education or emotion promotion?, N Engl J Med, 346, 524, 10.1056/NEJM200202143460713 · DOI
  35. Ford, 2007, Over the counter drugs can be highly addictive, BMJ, 334, 917, 10.1136/bmj.39199.472326.3A · DOI
  36. Ayub, 2017, “An overview of unorganized retail pharmacy in Indian pharmaceutical industry”, Indian J Dent Res, 7, 14394
  37. Kanthe, 2012, Sale of over the counter (OTC) drugs via post offices-A consumer perception, Int J Adv Res Manag, 3, 63
  38. Senak, 2008, Behind-the-counter drug access, Am Health Drug Benefits, 1, 56
  39. Kumar, 2016, Abuse of topical corticosteroids in India: Concerns and the way forward, J Pharmacol Pharmacother, 7, 1, 10.4103/0976-500X.179364 · DOI
  40. Srinivasan, 2018, Fixed dose combinations and their ban issues of concern, J Public Aff Changes, 1, 72
  41. Prashanti, 2017, A review on online pharmacy, IOSR J Pharm Bio Sci, 12, 32
  42. Paruchuri, 2013, Drug regulatory status assignment criteria: A contrast among 2 countries, Int J Pharm Sci Res, 4, 181

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Marathe, P., Kamat, S., Tripathi, R., Raut, S., & Khatri, N.
Affiliations
  • King Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College (IN)
  • Behavioral Neuroscience Group, Department of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Australia
  • Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India
Corresponding author
Kamat, SK
Venue
Journal of Postgraduate Medicine
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2020-01
Volume
66
Issue
1
Pages
28-34
ISSN
  • 0022-3859 (ISSN-L)
  • 0972-2823
DOI
10.4103/jpgm.jpgm_381_19
PMC
PMC6970327
OpenAlex
W3002347355
Cited by
106
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 4
FWCI
2.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Postgraduate Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UTAS Research Repository (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Issues, ethics and legal aspects › Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare
Keywords
over-the-counter drugs, prescription-only drugs, pharmacist role, adverse drug reactions, India
MeSH terms
Nonprescription Drugs, Humans, India, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Pharmacists, Public Health, Self Medication, Professional Role

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review