Characterisation of patient encounters in community pharmacies (with special focus on self-medication)

To characterise patient encounters during routine drug dispensing in community pharmacies.

Cross-sectional survey in community pharmacies (Belgium).

Fifty-four per cent of all encounters (N = 1650) concerned patients carrying a prescription, of which 39% were prescriptions for new medication and 61% were repeat prescriptions. In 62% of all encounters, patients asked for non-prescribed medication. Almost one-third of self-medication requests related to special patient populations (mainly children and elderly). CONCLUSIONS : Many encounters related to self-medication, and a substantial number of these self-medication requests concerned vulnerable patient populations.