Objective:
To investigate self reported practice and actual practice of private
pharmacy staff in relation to drug regulations and provision of
prednisolone (a prescription-only corticosteroid) on request to
treat lower back pain.
Method: Sixty private pharmacies in Hanoi were randomly selected.
Self reported practice was assessed through interviews with pharmacy
staff using a questionnaire; actual practice was assessed with the
Simulated Client Method with 5 encounters in each pharmacy (a total
of 295 encounters).
Results: Sixty percent of the pharmacy staff interviewed said that
they would not dispense corticosteroids without prescription and
60% could mention some adverse effects. In practice all but one
pharmacy dispensed corticosteroids without prescription in 76 %
of all the encounters. Questions and advice given to the clients
were associated with significantly lower dispensing of corticosteroids.
Conclusion: The low compliance with prescription regulations and
the discrepancy between stated practice and actual practice raises
concerns. This study indicates that commercial pressures exceed
the deterrent effect of current drug regulations and their implementation
and hence enforcement of regulations needs to be improved.
