Data from a study carried out by Pharmacy Voice indicates that community pharmacy teams in England consistently base decisions around OTC medication provision on clinical judgment and patients’ best interests – even when sales are lost as a result.

The data comes from a yearly practice-based audit that is compulsory for pharmacy teams. Almost half of the country’s 11,700 pharmacies chose to use the Pharmacy Voice version this year.

The study suggests that on over 13 million occasions last year, pharmacies chose to provide alternatives to the sale of OTC products, with the most common reason for not supplying an OTC product being that advice was provided instead. Nearly one in five instances of non-supply were due to suspected misuse, unsuitability or legal reasons.