Definition
Over -the-counter drugs (or OTC drugs, from the English " Over The Counter ") are medicines whose dispensing to the patient can take place without the presentation of any type of prescription.
For this reason, over-the-counter drugs are also called self-medication .
Dispensing and costs
The patient can freely access the over-the-counter drugs without having to present any type of medical prescription. On the contrary, the patient can access and become aware of the existence of such drugs not only thanks to the direct interaction and advice of the pharmacist, but also through advertising, which for this category of drugs is allowed (unlike what happens for SOP drugs - without medical prescription).
In addition to being advertised, OTCs can be displayed in areas where customers have free access, just as they can be displayed on the same counter as the pharmacy (hence the name "over -the-counter drugs ").
Furthermore, OTC drugs can be sold not only inside pharmacies, but also in parapharmacies and in so-called "health corners", now widespread in supermarkets. Marketing is also allowed through the websites of authorized pharmacies.
From the point of view of the classification of medicines, carried out on the basis of the replenishment and reimbursement regime, the over-the-counter drugs belong to the C-bis band (a subclass of the C band); therefore, their cost is fully at the expense of the citizen and is not reimbursable by the National Health System (SSN), except in some rare cases contemplated by current legislation.
The public price of over-the-counter drugs can be established by the pharmacy, the drugstore or the point of sale that delivers the product which, in full autonomy and if deemed necessary, can also apply discounts of different value.
Advertising over-the-counter drugs
As mentioned, over-the-counter drugs can be advertised through various means (radio, television, newspapers, internet, etc.). However, since it is always a matter of drugs, the advertising that is made of it must respect certain parameters.
In this regard, a specific law decree was issued, whose task is precisely to regulate all those forms of communication concerning drugs and their recipients.
The decree states that:
- Over-the-counter drugs are identified as the only medicines that can be advertised to the public;
- Before the disclosure of the advertising of any over-the-counter drug, this must be submitted to the attention and analysis of the special commission of experts, created within the Ministry of Health.
In addition to this, the decree states that the advertising of over-the-counter drugs must comply with the following points to be approved:
- The advertising character of the message must be explicit;
- Advertising must promote a rational use of the drug, it must not be misleading and must represent it objectively;
- The name of the over-the-counter drug must be reported, as well as the active ingredient contained in it;
- The advertisement must explicitly invite the patient to read all the information on the package or in the package insert;
- Recourse to the doctor's advice should not be superfluous;
- Advertising must in no way lead us to think that the over-the-counter drug is free of side effects, that failure to take the medicine may alter a state of good health or that its intake may, instead, improve it;
- There must be no comparisons between medicines;
- The advertising message should not be aimed primarily at children;
- You absolutely must not use visual representations of alterations of the human body caused by diseases.
Finally, the decree also prohibits the assimilation of the medicine to cosmetic, food or consumer products, just as it prohibits the advertising of over-the-counter drugs from being transmitted through testimonials, such as health workers, doctors, specialists, or other people known to the public .
