OTC用药也有人叫做“家庭自选用药”,即非处方用药。非处方用药是指不经医生诊断,患者或家属自己在药店购药或在家庭小药箱中选择药物服用。西方发达国家实行非处方用药制度十分盛行,专家们也将非处方用药制度作为公众自我保健、节省宝贵医疗资源的重要手段大加赞赏。在我国,部分经济发达的城市也开始流行这种作法,城市居民的“大病上医院,小病进药店”的观念也逐渐形成,城市街头大小药店如雨后春笋般出现。 OTC medication is also called “home choice medication”, that is, non-prescription medication. Over-the-counter medication refers to the diagnosis by a doctor, the patient or family members in the pharmacy to buy their own medicine or in the small home medication box. Western developed countries practice over-the-counter medication is very popular, experts also non-prescription drug system as an important means of public health care, save valuable medical resources greatly appreciated. In our country, some economically developed cities are also beginning to make such a move. The concept of “serious illness in hospitals, ill-treatment pharmacies” of urban residents has also gradually taken shape and urban street-sized pharmacies have mushroomed.