Consumers trust pharmacists no matter what the label says.
Consumers trust pharmacists no matter what the label says.
Not only did almost two-thirds of the sample say they regularly talk with their pharmacist when choosing an OTC product, but 58 percent added that they have come to think of their local pharmacist in the same terms as their family doctor. While this kind of news may excite the drug chain industry, it may irk the American Medical Association. The AMA opposes the inclusion of pharmacists in OTC label lingo, based on the group's belief that such a change would inappropriately equate the pharmacist with the physician in the minds of consumers. To illustrate the group's concern, the AMA provides examples of specific OTCs for which continued need could portend a much more serious condition, such as OTC H-2 blockers masking a bleeding ulcer. All other considerations aside, the AMA's position appears unrealistic simply because America has entered the age of self-medication.