Off-label medicine use in children, a study of community pharmacists in Jordan

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to explore self‐reported experiences of community pharmacists towards off‐label prescribing. Methods A questionnaire survey was handed directly to pharmacists working in a group of randomly chosen community pharmacies in Jordan. Complete questionnaires were collected 1 week after the questionnaires were distributed. Key findings Only a minority of respondents (15%) admitted to being familiar with the concept of off‐label prescribing. When asked how they became familiar, 56% reported they had gained their knowledge through dispensing experience rather than undergraduate (14.7%) or postgraduate education (29.3%). The majority of respondents had concerns regarding the efficacy (98%) and safety (95%) of off‐label medicines used in children. Conclusions The majority of respondents were not familiar with the concept of off‐label medicines. While reporting to have gained their knowledge from their professional experience, only a minority of respondents reported knowingly dispensing off‐label medicines for children.