Cases

Key-Points Listed

Case 1

- Self-medication following the advice of friends;

- Financial difficulty in the acquisition of drugs or lack of information about places with more affordable prices or government programmes;

- No advice about drugs access or communication between doctor and patient,

- Lack of reinforcement in drug administration;

- No communication with the pharmacist;

- Lack of pharmacist-patient relationship;

-Taking the medicine only when symptoms appear, and not as prescribed, creating difficulties in adhesion and efficacy of treatment;

- Lack of a more human contact between patient and doctor;

- Lack of clarity in prescription.

Case 2

- Incorrect storage of medications;

- Self-medication: drug replacement without consulting a qualified professional;

- The patient didn’t read the patient information sheet/leaflet;

- Patient didn’t seek for professional help at the beginning of the problem, leading to more serious and unexpected adverse effects;

- Lack of a channel or way of communication with health professionals;

- Banalization of the symptoms and the medication used, not considering it seriously.

Case 3

- Lack of knowledge of the most common adverse effects, as they may occur even with treatment being followed correctly;

- Lack of patient information sheet/leaflet reading;

- Lack of precise orientation of health professionals;

- Lack of medical orientation about the interruption of the treatment in the case of the occurrence of adverse effects;

- Technician and mechanistic approach with the patient only in the sense of healing and not of prevention;

- Lack of attention and care of the patient with antibiotics, ignoring or disregarding the risk of bacterial resistance.

Case 4

- Improper disposal: the depositing of drugs in the toilet is harmful to the environment and populations’ health.

- The entire packaging (that was disposed of) may illegally be reused for counterfeit drugs;

- Promotion and advertising of drugs in pharmacies encouraging the culture of

commercialization and trivialization of the drugs’ use;

- Unnecessary household stock of medicines;

- The patient didn’t check the expiration date of the drug at the time of purchase;

- Suggesting and encouraging pharmacological treatments for relatives,

without consultation from a healthcare professional;

- Lack of information about the acquisition of drugs through government programmes;

- Focus on sales and not on a holistic treatment for the patient;

- Omission of the pharmacist's role and lack of recognition for this profession by the population.