OTC Methodology

Pharmacy Times 2007 OTC Survey of Pharmacists Recommendations

Methodology:

The 2007 Pharmacy Times Over-the-Counter (OTC) Survey of Pharmacists Recommendations asked pharmacists via e-mail for their preferences on more than 1,000 OTC brands in over 100 OTC categories.

A total of 80,000 retail pharmacists were e-mailed in 7 separate waves inviting them to participate in our online OTC survey. Each wave was e-mailed to approximately 10,000 pharmacists. The e-mail addresses were obtained from the Pharmacy Times e-mail database, which includes over 100,000 verified pharmacist e-mail addresses.

The survey was separated into 7 waves, each consisting of approximately 20 categories to avoid overloading the participant. The pharmacists were asked to enter their name, phone number, and e-mail address. As an incentive, respondents were entered into a drawing where 2 lucky pharmacists were randomly selected in each wave by our editors to receive an American Express Gift Card in the amount of $200.00. The winners’ names will be posted on the Pharmacy Times Web site in June 2007.

Pharmacists were asked to choose which product they recommended the most in each category. They were also given an option to select "Other" and input a product of their choice. They were then asked to enter the number of times they recommended that particular product each month.

The waves were sent out beginning in January and ending in April 2007. By the end of April all surveys had been tabulated.

Results are posted on the Pharmacy Times Web site and will be published in a supplement to the Pharmacy Times June 2007 issue.

The response to the survey was as follows: