일부 일반의약품 약국외 판매도입 방안 연구

Abstract

Recently, there have been controversies about whether or not some over-the-counter(OTC) medicines should be sold at places other than pharmacies, in Korea. While some emphasize inconvenience in buying OTC at midnight and on holidays, the others emphasize a possible increase in side effects resulting from selling OTC at places other than pharmacies. This research tries to collect various opinions from experts, consumers by holding expert meetings and a public hearing, and to provide policy implications. This research also conducted a sample survey for consumers' attitudes about proper places where some OTC's should be sold, and found a majority agreed on sales of some OTC's at the places other than pharmacies. The research introduces examples of some other countries where some OTC's are sold at places such as supermarkets, outlets and etc. The issues relating to sales of OTC such as the items of medicines legally sold at places other than pharmacies, age limits in access to OTC, qualifications to sell OTC, and labelling, are reviewed in countries under the study. It is found that in countries where some OTC's are sold at places other than pharmacies, institutional arrangements are made to control abuse of OTC.