Doctors spoke about the peculiarities of self-treatment of Russians: drugs with alcohol

Most of the time they act completely irresponsibly.

The pandemic has clearly demonstrated that public health systems are sometimes unable to cope with the influx of patients. Therefore, many countries of the world today resort to the implementation of the concepts of responsible self-treatment (RS). In Russia, the need for its introduction has been talked about for many years, and polls show that more than 90% of Russians resort to self-treatment. However, we have our own nuances, which experts spoke about during the First Conference on Responsible Self-Treatment and its impact on the quality of life of patients.

“The term “self-medication” hurts the ears of many and is perceived as a negative position of a patient who does not want to obey a doctor. Of course, the reason for this is largely in the formed distrust between the patient and the doctor,” says the co-chairman of the All-Russian Union of Patients, chairman of the Council of Public Organizations for Protection rights of patients in the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare, Professor Yan Vlasov.

The WHO concept of responsible self-medication was announced back in 1983. And in 2021, the WHO guidance on OS and well-being was released, which suggests that people can treat many health problems themselves. According to Sergey Popov, a lawyer with the All-Russian Union of Patients, there are no regulatory recommendations in Russia on this matter, although many people buy medicines without a doctor’s prescription. A 2021 VTsIOM survey showed that 35% of people do not go to doctors in case of health problems. But more often than not, Russians are being treated completely irresponsibly. Popov says that WHO allows self-medication only in two cases – for mild ailments (runny nose, headache) or for chronic patients with an established diagnosis with recommended treatment in case of dose adjustment.

According to Yan Vlasov, a survey in 10 European countries back in 2013 showed that 90% of respondents consider responsible self-treatment to be the key to health protection, but less than 20% of Europeans actually do it – they lack knowledge, skills, tools and support.

The Russians have a simpler attitude towards such issues. Thus, a survey conducted by VIOM in 2016 showed that 81% of respondents are ready to take responsibility for their health. At the same time, 92% are ready to cure themselves if they have a sore throat; 90% – if the head, 86% will help themselves with a cough or heartburn; 76% with temperature increase; 72% – in violation of digestion; 55% for joint pain and 42% for high blood pressure.

The assembled experts noted that when choosing medicines, patients most often turn to a pharmacist (according to a recent study, 61% of Russians will do this). But, as many experts have concluded, today in pharmacies, patients will most often be “bred” either for expensive drugs that they do not need, or for dietary supplements in general. In addition, it is difficult to trust the recommendations of pharmacists for other reasons.

Tatyana Fomina, Deputy Director of the Center for Social Technologies and Research, shared the results of a study conducted in April 2023 in 270 pharmacies of the country with the participation of a “mystery shopper”: “Almost 18% of pharmacists did not ask patients clarifying questions for the selection of drugs; 30% did not specify the symptoms and characteristics of well-being and almost 70% were not interested in patient preferences.As a result, only 34% of the recommendations turned out to be justified if the primary doctor (pharmacist or pharmacist who serves visitors — Auth.) did not ask clarifying questions to “mystery shoppers”.

The expert comes to the conclusion that the pharmacy has become a place for the promotion of medicines, and the pharmacist has become an advertising agent.

“With responsible self-treatment, the patient should not be left alone with the disease. And the first person he meets, except for a neighbor or friends, is a pharmacist. But today, the pharmacist plays the role of an advertising agent for pharmaceutical companies – more often those drugs are sold for the promotion of which they pay “The study showed that 47% of the first-timers proactively offer a drug replacement in the pharmacy, even if it is prescribed by a doctor. At the same time, 60% of pharmacists’ recommendations contain biological additives,” adds Yan Vlasov.

Professor Vlasov says that this whole situation leads to the fact that a huge number of patients in the country are treated on their own, but incorrectly or ineffectively. For example, another recent survey showed that every fifth citizen of the Russian Federation mixes drugs with alcohol, and 48% buy drugs that no one prescribed them. And until it is possible to improve the medical literacy of the population, self-medication will do more harm than good.