To clarify the views and needs on Rx-to-OTC switches in patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia, our survey was conducted with 199 patients at a pharmacy in Tokyo, Japan.Of the 199 patients, 159 people were patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases.One hundred and ten patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases were seventy-year-old and older, and 149 of the patients have been to a hospital at least once in the past year.Thirty-six point five percent of the patients afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases replied that they wanted to use Rx-to-OTC switches when they had been ill and/or injured.The main reasons that they wanted to use Rx-to-OTC switches were “convenience” and “always the same drugs”.On the other hand, the main reason that they did not want to use Rx-to-OTC switches was “I want to have a detailed examination”.Twenty-three point nine percent of them replied that they wanted to switch their prescription drugs to Rx-to-OTC switches. We believe that the usage of Rx-to-OTC switches after the establishment of a support system to secure safety can be the answer to the issues of the rise in medical care expenditures and doctor shortage.

Objective: There are some cases in which the original drug and generic, or various generic drugs have different flavors.  In prescription substitution, there is concern that difference in the flavor of the drug will influence on medication adherence.  Therefore pharmacists should sufficiently understand information regarding the flavors of drugs.  We investigated the source of information on flavor and an actual flavor.
Methods: The study was limited to antibiotic powders for pediatric patients, 43 original drugs and 68 generic drugs were examined.  We collected information on the flavor by the paper document, such as pharmaceutical reference issued by the pharmaceutical companies, and by telephone.  We investigated the inclusion of the paper document, presence of descriptive information on the flavor listed in the paper document and the concordance between the flavor of the original drug and that of the generic drug.
Results: For both the original drugs and generics, a flavor was added to many drugs (86.0 and 91.2%, respectively).  There were many cases in which the original drug and generic drug had different flavors.  However, information on the flavor was only described on the paper document of 28.6% of original drugs and 45.3% of the generic drugs.  Inquiry to the pharmaceutical companies by telephone was needed to know the flavor of drugs not described.  The inclusion of the paper document varied greatly with each pharmaceutical company.
Conclusion: In the promotion of prescription substitution, it is necessary to promote proper administration of generic drugs by maintaining and collecting information on the flavor, and providing sufficient information to patients.