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In 2005, 10% of consultations in France ended without a prescription. In 2019, a review of the literature found 30 to 70% of prescription-free consultations in Northern Europe and 10 to 22% in Southern Europe and underlined the scarcity of quantitative data. Different factors contribute to this heterogeneity, such as product availability and status, modes of management, distribution channels, clinical practice recommendations, public policies targeting certain classes, etc. The main objective of our study was to quantify the rate of prescription-free consultations in general practice in France in 2021. The secondary objective was to characterize prescription-free consultations and analyze their determinants.

Background: In 2005, the rate of prescription-free consultations in Europe varied widely: 57% in the Netherlands, 28% in Germany, 17% in Spain and 10% in France. Objectives.- To assess the number of prescription-free consultations in European countries since 2005 and to analyse the perceptions of patients and general practitioners (GPs).