A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study: Proportion of Authenticity and Complete Product Information of FarmaTag Hologram on Registered Pharmaceutical Products among Selected Mainstream Medicines’ Sellers in the State of Sabah (ProvoS)

Abstract

FarmaTag Hologram is a two-dimensional QR code sticker that is required on all registered pharmaceutical products (RPP) in Malaysia. By scanning the QR code, the authenticity and product information of the hologram are displayed. However, FarmaTag holograms with incomplete product information may be susceptible to being misused by manufacturers/distributors/suppliers (MDS) for different pharmaceutical products, unregistered pharmaceutical products, or counterfeit products. In addition to misusing, these callous acts may lead to consumer distrust, doubt, and a lack of confidence in the authenticity of RPP. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among Selected Mainstream Medicines’ Sellers in the State of Sabah between January 2022 and September 2022 to evaluate the proportion of authenticity and complete product information of FarmaTag Hologram on registered pharmaceutical products (RPP) available among selected Mainstream Medicines’ Sellers (MMS) in the state of Sabah. The total sample size was 5048 registered pharmaceutical products. There was no formal sample size calculation performed because this was the first study to explore this topic. All samples being selected from MMS were authentic (100%), which included 31.7% (n = 1600) from private medical clinics, 18.8% (n = 948), from retail pharmacies, and 49.5% (n = 2500) from Non-Pharmacy Drug Stores (NPDS). However, only 268 (5.3%) samples were found to have complete product information. The findings of this study provide preliminary information to relevant authorities on the authenticity and complete product information of FarmaTag Hologram on registered pharmaceutical products among selected MMS in the state of Sabah.