Non-prescription antibiotic dispensing and counselling practices in Iraqi community pharmacies: implications for Antimicrobial stewardship and resistance containment

Key Points

• The aim is to evaluate non-prescription antibiotic dispensing and counseling practices in Iraqi community pharmacies and their implications for antimicrobial stewardship.
• Evaluated dispensing practices in Iraqi community pharmacies.
• Assessed the level of counseling provided to customers regarding antibiotics.
• Identified regulatory and workforce support needs for improving practices.
• Widespread non-prescription antibiotic dispensing observed in pharmacies.
• Minimal counseling practices noted when antibiotics are dispensed.
• Recommendations highlight the need for stronger regulatory enforcement to improve antimicrobial stewardship.