Pharmacists in a community pharmacy may recommend an over-the-counter (
OTC) drug to patients with
headache. However, it is not clear how pharmacists should distinguish the symptoms of patients and facilitate appropriate
self-medication. Here, we investigated the role of pharmacists in a community pharmacy in recommending
OTC drugs for
self-medication by patients with
headache and elucidated their future needs using a questionnaire intended for doctors and pharmacists. More than half of the pharmacists surveyed did not have any experience with recommending
OTC drugs for patients with
headache. To distinguish between patients for whom pharmacists should "recommend
OTC drugs" and patients who should be encouraged "to consult a hospital or clinic," doctors thought that pharmacists should use an "assistance tool to diagnosis
headache, such as a screener for
migraine" and "guidelines for
chronic headache." However, few pharmacists used these tools. About 68% of doctors indicated that it would be "meaningful" for pharmacists to distinguish patients with
headache. Moreover, both doctors and pharmacists thought that pharmacists should provide patients not only with "instruction on the use of drugs" but also suggest "when to consult a hospital or clinic." However, 32% of doctors indicated that it is "meaningless" for pharmacists to attempt to distinguish patients with
headache and expressed concern about the increase of patients who
overuse headache medication. These findings provide useful information to guide pharmacists in community pharmacy when recommending
OTC drugs for
self-medication by patients with
headache.