Definition
Over-the-counter drugs (or OTC drugs, from "English"Over The Counter") are medicines which can be dispensed to the patient without presenting any type of medical prescription.
For this reason, over-the-counter drugs are also referred to as self-medication.
Dispensation and Costs
The patient can freely access over-the-counter drugs without the obligation to present any type of medical prescription. Indeed, the patient can have access and become aware of the existence of such drugs not only thanks to direct interaction and the pharmacist's advice. , but also through advertising, which is allowed for this category of drugs (unlike what happens for SOP drugs - without a prescription).
In addition to being advertised, OTCs can be displayed in areas to which customers have free access, as well as displayed on the counter of the pharmacy itself (hence the name of "over-the-counter drugs").
Furthermore, OTC drugs can be sold not only in pharmacies, but also in parapharmacies and in the so-called "health corners", now very popular in supermarkets of large-scale distribution. Marketing is also permitted via 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, over-the-counter medicines belong to the C-bis range (a sub-class of the C range); therefore, their cost is fully borne by the citizen and is not reimbursable by the National Health System (SSN), except in some rare cases contemplated by current legislation.
The retail price of over-the-counter drugs can be established by the pharmacy, the parapharmacy or the point of sale that supplies the product which, in full autonomy and if it deems it necessary, can also apply discounts of different values.
Advertising of over-the-counter drugs
As mentioned, over-the-counter drugs can be advertised through different means (radio, television, newspapers, internet, etc.). However, since it is always and in any case drugs, the advertising that is made must respect certain parameters.
In this regard, a specific decree law has been issued, whose task is precisely to regulate all those forms of communication that have as their object drugs and their recipients.
The decree states that:
- Over-the-counter drugs are identified as the only drugs that can be advertised to the public;
- Before the disclosure of advertising for 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 provides that the advertising of over-the-counter drugs, to be approved, must comply with the following points:
- The advertising nature of the message must be explicit;
- Advertising must favor a rational use of the drug, 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;
- Advertising must explicitly invite the patient to read all the information on the package or in the package leaflet;
- We must not make it seem superfluous to resort to medical advice;
- Advertising must in no way lead one to think that the over-the-counter drug has no side effects, that failure to take the drug may alter a state of good health or that its intake may, on the other hand, improve it;
- There must be no comparisons between drugs;
- The advertising message should not be aimed primarily at children;
- There is absolutely no way to use visual representations of the alterations of the human body caused by diseases.
Finally, the decree also prohibits the assimilation of the medicine to cosmetic, food or consumer products, as well as prohibits the advertising message of over-the-counter drugs from being transmitted through testimonials, such as health professionals, doctors, specialists, or other people known to the public. .
