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Objectives: Redispensing by pharmacies of medication unused by another patient could contribute to optimal use of healthcare resources. This study aimed to assess patient willingness to use medication returned by another patient and patient characteristics associated with this willingness., Design: Cross-sectional survey., Setting: A total of 41 community and 5 outpatient pharmacies in the Netherlands., Participants: Total of 2215 pharmacy visitors., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Patients completed a questionnaire regarding their willingness to use medication returned unused to the pharmacy by another patient, assuming quality was guaranteed. Secondary outcome measures included patient sociodemographic characteristics that were associated with patient willingness, analysed using logistic regression analysis and reported as ORs with 95% CIs., Results: Of the 2215 patients (mean (SD) age 50.6(18.0) years; 61.4% female), 61.2% were willing to use medication returned unused to the pharmacy by another patient. Patients who were unwilling mostly found it risky. Men were more willing to use returned medication (OR 1.3 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6), as did patients with a high educational level (OR 1.8 95% CI 1.3 to 2.5), those who regularly use 1-3 medications (OR 1.3 95% CI 1.1 to 1.7), those who returned medication to the pharmacy for disposal (OR 1.5 95% CI 1.0 to 2.3) and those who ever had unused medication themselves (OR 1.3 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6)). Patients with non-Dutch cultural background were less willing to use returned medication (OR 0.395% CI 0.3 to 0.4))., Conclusions: When quality is guaranteed, a substantial proportion of patients are willing to use medication returned unused to the pharmacy by another patient. This suggests that implementation of redispensing may be supported by patients., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

In this essay it is argued that advertisements for medicines in the lay press constitute an important source for the patient in medical history. At first sight, advertisements only seem to document the supply side of the medical market. However, the image of the proactive manufacturer offering his goods to passive consumers is a misleading one. For a manufacturer to get and remain in business, it was crucial to develop a sensitive antenna for the needs of the public. In a highly commercial domain like health care around 1900 production, distribution and consumption of medicines constituted an interactive cycle of which advertisements were a part. They mirror a subtle play with dormant notions about health, illness and healing. When looking at it this way, the health care system (or rather: the medical market) becomes a place where meaning is being constructed, negotiated and exchanged. Thus, by taking a closer look at advertisements, the demand side comes in sight as well. By using advertisements for medicines in the lay press as a source, it seems possible to overcome the objection that much patient history is still too much focused on the academy and on physicians.