Natalie Gauld

OTC Medicines – Major Changes and Issues

Increasingly potent medicines are available over-the-counter, such as naproxen in full anti-inflammatory doses, the emergency contraceptive pill and sumatriptan. This is a dynamic area in NZ and internationally and every six months more drugs are considered for reclassification. Chloramphenicol and omeprazole are the latest ones up for possible non-prescription availability – by the time of the symposium we should know the outcome. GPs and Nurses need to know what patients may be taking without prescription. 

Issues in the non-prescription area include sedating antihistamines and other cough/cold treatment issues in under 2 years – is this bureaucracy gone mad or is there a rational explanation? Other issues include the paracetamol and asthma story, and the comeback of phenylephrine. Misuse of OTC medicines will be discussed, including recent issues with codeine-containing medicines, responsible in Australia for emergency presentations with GI bleeds.
Intended audience: This session, aimed at GPs and practice nurses particularly, will be an update on what your patients can purchase without a prescription, and some recent issues in the over-the-counter area.

Biography: Natalie Gauld is a pharmacist who has specialised in the non-prescription and reclassification areas. She is on New Zealand’s Medicines Classification Committee and has recently started a PhD in the area of medicines reclassification. For the last three years she has edited CMP Medica’s annual Healthcare Handbook about OTC medicines. She has conducted research on consumer use of OTC oral diclofenac, and pharmacists’ views and experience of non-prescription oseltamivir in NZ.