Table 4 Patient history taking, counselling and recommendation
From: Community pharmacy staff’s response to symptoms of common infections: a pseudo-patient study
Frequency (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall n = 242 | Sore throat n = 60 | Common cold n = 60 | Diarrhoea n = 60 | UTI n = 62 | |
Asked about other symptoms | 25 (10) | 7 (12) | 11 (18) | 6 (10) | 2 (2) |
Action has been taken | 20 (8) | 5 (8) | 9 (15) | 4 (7) | 2 (3) |
Taking any other medicine | 4 (1.7) | 2 (3) | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) |
Recommended to see a physician | 44 (18) | 6 (10) | 14 (23) | 9 (15) | 15 (24) |
Antibiotic dispensed cases, frequency (%) | |||||
Questions asked about; | n = 99 | n = 26 | n = 9 | n = 30 | n = 34 |
Other symptoms/ comorbidities (Yes) | 36 (36) | 10 (38) | 6 (67) | 14 (47) | 6 (18) |
Action already taken | 12 (12) | 3 (11) | 3 (33) | 4 (13) | 2 (6) |
Other medicine taking | 2 (2) | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) |
Pregnancy status | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 |
Drug allergies | 10 (10) | 5 (19) | 0 | 2 (7) | 3 (9) |
Patient counselling/ advice; | |||||
Recommended to see a physician | 10 (10) | 2 (8) | 0 | 5 (17) | 3 (9) |
How to take | 59 (60) | 16 (62) | 3 (33) | 16 (53) | 24 (71) |
How often to take | 47 (47) | 10 (38) | 3 (33) | 13 (43) | 21 (62) |
When to stop taking | 22 (22) | 4 (15) | 0 | 7 (23) | 11 (32) |