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

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.