A REFLECTION ON SELF-MEDICATION AND NON-PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES IN PORTUGAL

• Autor(a) principal: Soares Cruz, Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Caramona, Margarida, Pereira Guerreiro, Mara
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25756/rpf.v7i2.2

In Portugal the Governmental framework for self-medication considers the use of non-prescription medicines to relieve minor illnesses only, although there is an international trend for extending it to long-term conditions.Medicines available as non-prescription in countries with similar United Nations Human Development Index are still classified as prescription-only in Portugal. The experiences of developed countries may be useful for discussing opportunities of widening the non-prescription medicines (NPM) list in Portugal. The literature suggests that the existence of a “pharmacy-only” category, which was recently introduced in Portugal, contributes to broadening the number of available drugs with a non-prescription status. Overall, there has been an upward trend in the national NPM market between 2005 and 2013. Several factors may explain this trend, including the steady opening of drug stores in this period and some prescription to non-prescription switches.Portuguese data on the prevalence of self-medication show it is common, which is in accordance with international literature. Analysis of prevalence over time is hampered by the absence of longitudinal studies. Portuguese studies suggest that consumers rank highly pharmacists’ role in supporting self-medication. Throughout the paper several areas for future research are suggested.