DRUG INFORMATION FROM PHARMACIES : DESIRE FOR MORE SPONTANEOUS INFORMATION

* From the Department of Social Pharmacy, University of Kuopio, Finland. Supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation Elli Turunen Fund, the Association of Finnish Pharmacies, and the National Agency for Welfare and Health. Address correspondence to: Marja Airaksinen, Department of Social Pharmacy, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, SF-70211 Kuopio, Finland. non-prescription drugs to the public. Over 90% of the pharmacy turnover comes from drugs. Only personnel with a qualification in pharmacy are allowed to dispense medicines (i.e., pharmacists, with a 5-year university degree, and assistant pharmacists, with a 2.5-year university diploma). Since 1983, the law has required an active pharmacy involvement in assurance of proper drug use. The shift from a passive role (information only upon request) to a more active and spontaneous role takes time. According to a study conducted in 1985, every second patient on antibiotic therapy received some information from their pharmacist, mostly about the length of therapy, regularity of use and incompatibilities with foods and other drugs.13 Dispensing labels based on the information provided by physicians on the prescription are supposed to contain dosage instructions and the purpose of the medication. However, physician compliance is rather poor: a recent study showed that the purpose of medication was included on only 43% of prescriptions.'4 The first computerized patient information system was launched in 1986. It consisted mainly of brief instructions on using the drug without any explanations. In 1988, when the data for this study were collected, this system was available in about 10% of pharmacies. A