ArticleDrugs in context2025
Simulated client study on the dispensing practices for narcotic and psychotropic medications in community drug outlets in Ethiopia.
Article in Drugs in context, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Dispensing prescription-only medications without a valid prescription poses significant public health risks, including inappropriate drug use, adverse drug reactions and medication dependence. Narcotics and psychotropic drugs are particularly vulnerable to misuse. Despite this, limited data exist on the dispensing practices of these medications at community drug retail outlets in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the extent and factors of non-prescription dispensing of narcotic and psychotropic medications at community drug retail outlets in Ethiopia. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted using the simulated client method from June 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023, in Debre Markos town, Ethiopia. Three trained volunteer pharmacy professionals acted as simulated clients. A validated simulated client approach was used to request medications through three different scenarios: symptom-based (depression), direct request by name and request by presenting a medication package. Results: A total of 109 requests were made by the simulated clients at 38 community drug retail outlets during three rounds of observations. The rates of non-prescription dispensing were 28.9% for depression simulation, 60.5% for direct name requests and 81.6% for package-based requests. A total of nine types of narcotic and psychotropic medications were dispensed without prescription, the most common of which were amitriptyline, followed by tramadol, carbamazepine, pethidine and haloperidol. Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of non-prescription dispensing of narcotic and psychotropic medications, particularly in response to assertive client requests. Urgent regulatory measures are needed to ensure adherence to prescription-only policies, especially for frequently dispensed drugs such as amitriptyline, tramadol and chlorpromazine.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.