Over the Counter Drugs’ Price Deregulation in Jordan: The Case of Paracetamol

This research aimed to evaluate the implementation of Over The Counter drugs (OTC) prices deregulation policy in Jordan. Two comprehensive questionnaires were designed; one for pharmacists (retailers) and the other for patients (consumers); 311 pharmacies and 1545 patients were randomly included.The majority of pharmacists sample (response rate=96.8%) confirmed that medicines prices are crucial to Jordanians living in a lower middle income country who cannot afford prices increase, and paracetamol (the most commonly utilized OTC product in Jordan) price deregulation will lead to an increase in its price. However, most pharmacists tend to cooperate rather than compete in setting up OTC prices if deregulated. Moreover, most of the patients samples (response rate=96.6%) confirmed that paracetamol price deregulation will not decrease its price. The study concludes that prices of paracetamol products are to increase if deregulated. Given current Jordanian economic situation, it is recommended that OTC drugs prices should be kept controlled.