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BMC Medical Informatics and Decision... Aug 2020In recent years, online pharmacies have been accepted by increasingly more consumers, and the prospects for online pharmacies are optimistic. This article explores the...
BACKGROUND
In recent years, online pharmacies have been accepted by increasingly more consumers, and the prospects for online pharmacies are optimistic. This article explores the consumers' satisfaction factors addressed in Business to Customer (B2C) online pharmacy reviews and analyzes the sentiments expressed in the reviews. The goal of this work is to help B2C online pharmacy enterprises identify consumers' concerns, continuously improve the health services level.
METHODS
This article was based on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model. From a third-party platform-based B2C online pharmacy and a proprietary B2C online pharmacy (JD Pharmacy and J1.COM, respectively), 136,630 pieces of over-the-counter (OTC) drug review data posted from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018 were selected as samples and used to explore the satisfaction factors of B2C online pharmacy consumers regarding the entire drug purchasing process. Then, the sentiments expressed in the drug reviews were analyzed with SnowNLP.
RESULT
Categorization of the 12 factors identified by LDA showed that 5 factors were related to logistics; these 5 factors, which also included the most drug reviews, made up 38.5% of the reviews. The number of factors related to drug prices was second, with 3 factors, and reviews of drug prices made up 25.5% of the reviews. Customer service and drug effects each had two related factors, and a smaller percentage of these reviews (13.95%) were related to drug effects. Consumers still maintain positive opinions of JD Pharmacy and J1.COM. However, some opinions on logistics and drug prices are expressed.
CONCLUSION
The most important task for online pharmacies is to improve logistics. It is better to develop self-built logistics. Both types of B2C online pharmacies can improve consumer viscosity by implementing marketing strategies. With regard to customer service, focusing on improving employees' service attitudes is necessary.
Topics: Commerce; Consumer Behavior; Humans; Personal Satisfaction; Pharmaceutical Services, Online; Pharmacies
PubMed: 32807175
DOI: 10.1186/s12911-020-01214-x -
PloS One 2018Limited studies have investigated geographic accessibility to a nearby community pharmacy for elderly which is an essential determinant of the access to medications and...
OBJECTIVES
Limited studies have investigated geographic accessibility to a nearby community pharmacy for elderly which is an essential determinant of the access to medications and pharmacy services. This research identified pharmacy deserts and investigated availability of different types of community pharmacies and their services for elderly enrolled in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP).
METHODS
The state of Pennsylvania in the US was used as a case to demonstrate the geographic accessibility to community pharmacy and services for elderly enrolled in SPAP. The locations of community pharmacies and households of elderly enrolled in SPAP were derived from Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly programs' database. The street addresses were geocoded and the distance to a nearby community pharmacy was calculated for study sample using the haversine formula. The demographic and geographic data were aggregated to Census Tracts and pharmacy deserts were identified using the predefined criteria. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to determine whether there are statistical differences in the socio-demographic profiles and distribution of different types of community pharmacies and their services in pharmacy deserts and non-deserts. This research used hot spot analyses at county level to identify clusters of pharmacy deserts, areas with high concentration of different racial/ethnic groups and clusters of high densities of chain and independent pharmacies.
RESULTS
The Spatial analysis revealed that 39% and 61% Census Tracts in Pennsylvania were pharmacy deserts and non-deserts respectively (p < 0.001). Pharmacy deserts were found to have significantly more females, married and white elderly and fewer blacks and Hispanics compared to pharmacy non-deserts. Pharmacy deserts had significantly fewer chain and independent pharmacies and less delivery and 24-hour services in pharmacies than pharmacy non-deserts. Hot spot analyses showed that clusters of pharmacy deserts were more concentrated in southcentral, northwest and northeast regions of the state which represent rural areas and overlapped with clusters of high concentration of white individuals.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that urban-rural inequality, racial/ethnic disparity and differences in availability of pharmacies and their services exist between pharmacy deserts and non-deserts. The methodological approach and analyses used in this study can also be applied to other public health programs to evaluate the coverage and breadth of public health services.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Community Pharmacy Services; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Male; Medical Assistance; National Health Programs; Pennsylvania; Pharmacies; Rural Population; Socioeconomic Factors; Spatial Analysis; United States
PubMed: 29864159
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198173 -
Medical Archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and... Dec 2017After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period... (Review)
Review
After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period slowed down due to numerous unfavorable political-economic and other circumstances. Thanks to the Turks, Arabic culture and useful Islamic principles expanded to the territory of our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Significant role in the transfer of Arabic pharmaceutical knowledge was also attributed to the Sephardic Jews who, with their arrival, continued to perform their attar activities, which were largely based on Arab achievements. However, insufficiently elaborated, rich funds of oriental medical and pharmaceutical handwriting testify that Oriental science has nurtured in these areas as well, and that the Arabic component in a specific way was intertwined with other cultures and traditions of B&H. The Franciscan monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina have museums which contain important exhibits and libraries rich in books, among which many from the field of medicine and pharmacy. Muslim mosques, also, had small libraries with Arabic books used for spreading medical knowledge. The second category was folk doctors and practitioners who were on disposition to the people of any religion. Some of them listened to lectures in medicine during the studies of theology and philosophy. However, most did not have any medical education, but by reading books and teaching experience they made their own recipe collection. Special books, called "Ljekaruše" (Books of recipes) were also born during the study when they came into contact with an even larger number of health books. However, it should not be neglected that a lot of them contained folk medicines that were used in some environments depending on the habits and available herbs. Although it has been proven that many recipes from Ljekaruše are pharmacologically and medically justified, one should not ignore the knowledge and skill behind them. The true flowering of medicine in B&H happening thanks to graduate doctors in Italy, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, etc. Through their action, in a short time, they greatly improved health in B&H, educated the population. The Franciscans were important because they opened the first open-air clinics, the first pharmacies, and wrote the first pharmacopoeia and regulations for the work of health care institutions. Numerous works preserved in monasteries have mostly brought about the study in only one or two copies. Their contribution to the development of health care and the prevention of illness and treatment of the population in B&H during that period is very significant.
Topics: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Culture; Delivery of Health Care; History of Pharmacy; History, 15th Century; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; History, Medieval; Humans; Islam; Medicine, Arabic; Ottoman Empire; Pharmacies; Reference Books, Medical; Turkey
PubMed: 29416207
DOI: 10.5455/medarh.2017.71.439-448 -
Health Expectations : An International... Sep 2004To systematically review feedback from pharmacy users on their perceptions and experiences of health-related advice and services provided from community pharmacies. (Review)
Review
Feedback from community pharmacy users on the contribution of community pharmacy to improving the public's health: a systematic review of the peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed literature 1990-2002.
OBJECTIVE
To systematically review feedback from pharmacy users on their perceptions and experiences of health-related advice and services provided from community pharmacies.
METHODS
The focus of the review was community pharmacy activities in relation to promoting health and well-being, preventing ill-health and maintaining health. Searches were conducted for peer-reviewed (international) and non-peer-reviewed (UK) research. Electronic databases searched included MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts; hand searches of key journals and conference abstracts, key informants. Key informants in the UK were contacted to identify unpublished studies. The inclusion period was 1990 onwards. Data extraction and synthesis Data were abstracted into a matrix by one author with a sample checked by a second. The Health Development Agency's Evidence Base 2000 standards and the evidence categories used by the Department of Health in the National Service Frameworks were applied to each item.
MAIN RESULTS
Seven peer reviewed papers and 13 non-peer reviewed reports were identified for inclusion in the review. Consumer usage of pharmacies is almost universal with prescription supplies and purchase of over the counter medicines predominating. Evidence shows that not only is usage low for general health advice, but that pharmacists are perceived as 'drugs experts' rather than experts on health and illness. Emergency hormonal contraception and head lice management schemes have been well received. There is a need to consider privacy and confidentiality surrounding advice giving.
CONCLUSIONS
Users of community pharmacy-based health development initiatives express a high level of satisfaction. If community pharmacies are to be used to their full extent, then actions to extending the public's awareness and acceptance of the pharmacist's role in giving advice will be crucial. Further research will be needed to measure any change in premises development on the public's perception of the level of privacy in pharmacies.
Topics: Confidentiality; Feedback; Humans; Patient Satisfaction; Peer Review, Health Care; Pharmacies; Quality Assurance, Health Care
PubMed: 15327458
DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2004.00274.x -
Health Care Management Science Sep 2023Drug shortages are a global and complex issue having negative impacts on patients, pharmacists, and the broader health care system. Using sales data from 22 Canadian...
Drug shortages are a global and complex issue having negative impacts on patients, pharmacists, and the broader health care system. Using sales data from 22 Canadian pharmacies and historical drug shortage data, we built machine learning models predicting shortages for the majority of the drugs in the most-dispensed interchangeable groups in Canada. When breaking drug shortages into four classes (none, low, medium, high), we were able to correctly predict the shortage class with 69% accuracy and a kappa value of 0.44, one month in advance, without access to any inventory data from drug manufacturers and suppliers. We also predicted 59% of the shortages deemed to be most impactful (given the demand for the drugs and the potential lack of interchangeable options). The models consider many variables, including the average days of a drug supply per patient, the total days of a drug supply, previous shortages, and the hierarchy of drugs within different drug groups and therapeutic classes. Once in production, the models will allow pharmacists to optimize their orders and inventories, and ultimately reduce the impact of drug shortages on their patients and operations.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacies; Canada; Pharmacy Service, Hospital; Pharmacy; Machine Learning
PubMed: 36913071
DOI: 10.1007/s10729-022-09627-y -
PloS One 2018This is the first exploration of service providers' attitudes and beliefs of quality and quality improvement in the community pharmacy setting in the UK.
INTRODUCTION
This is the first exploration of service providers' attitudes and beliefs of quality and quality improvement in the community pharmacy setting in the UK.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A series of interviews and focus groups was conducted with stakeholders from the pharmacy profession in the UK. Interviews were semi-structured and conducted face-to-face or by telephone. Focus groups were conducted with naturally-occurring groups i.e. at pharmacy conferences. Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed systematically using an interpretive approach.
RESULTS
Forty-two individuals participated across four focus groups and four interviews. A maximum variation sample was achieved in terms of pharmacist and pharmacy characteristics. Participants were generally positive about the need for quality and quality improvement and provided multifaceted and interlinked interpretations of quality and acknowledged its dynamic nature "quality moves forward". The challenge of standardising practice whilst providing person-centred care emerged: "you don't want to lose the personal touch, but you can't have people having a variable experience and one day it's fantastic and the next day it isn't". A variety of quality measurement methods were identified including direct observation (by internal and external agents) and feedback (mystery shoppers, colleagues, regulatory inspectors, service users), suggesting that standardisation was also needed in terms of future quality measurement. There was a tendency to report negative events as triggers for improvement. Future initiatives could adopt more positive approaches including positive deviants "There's nothing more powerful than people who've come up with something really good sharing it with their other colleagues".
DISCUSSION
The results are being used to develop and evaluate future quality improvement initiatives in this sector. These are likely to be targeted at organisational, team and individual levels.
Topics: Attitude of Health Personnel; Community Pharmacy Services; Female; Focus Groups; Humans; Male; Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Quality Improvement; United Kingdom
PubMed: 30036368
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200610 -
BMJ Open Jun 2019Although tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the USA, it is routinely sold in pharmacies. In 2008, San Francisco became the first city in the USA to... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVES
Although tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the USA, it is routinely sold in pharmacies. In 2008, San Francisco became the first city in the USA to pass a tobacco-free pharmacy ordinance. Over the next decade, 171 municipalities enacted similar policies, and in 2018, Massachusetts banned tobacco sales in pharmacies. Our objective was to assess the perceived effects of tobacco-free pharmacy policies on displays, sales, customer visits and counselling.
DESIGN
Observational study and survey.
SETTING
In 2017, we visited Walgreens and CVS stores in San Francisco and nearby San Jose, which allows tobacco sales, to assess placement of tobacco and over-the-counter tobacco cessation products (nicotine replacement therapy or NRT). We surveyed an employee at each site regarding the impact that tobacco-free pharmacy policies had had on customer traffic and sales of NRT.
PARTICIPANTS
We obtained display data from 72 pharmacies and collected surveys from 55 employees (76% response rate).
RESULTS
A majority of respondents at tobacco-free pharmacies (55%) reported that the policy had not affected customer visits. In comparison, 70% of respondents at tobacco-selling pharmacies believed that eliminating tobacco sales would reduce the number of customers visiting their stores. Pharmacies that were tobacco free and those that sold tobacco reported comparable displays, sales and counselling for NRT.
CONCLUSIONS
Pharmacies operating under tobacco-free policies did not report reduced customer visits. Greater awareness of this outcome could help pharmacies implement public health recommendations to eliminate tobacco sales.
Topics: California; Commerce; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Licensure; Pharmacies; Public Policy; San Francisco; Smoking; Tobacco Products; Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; Tobacco, Smokeless
PubMed: 31203236
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025603 -
American Journal of Health-system... Nov 2022The college of pharmacy has operated pharmacies on campus for over 26 years. Employees and patients are users of the pharmacies; however, utilization across the campus...
PURPOSE
The college of pharmacy has operated pharmacies on campus for over 26 years. Employees and patients are users of the pharmacies; however, utilization across the campus has been limited. This paper describes a process, as well as results, that was used to gather input from employees on a large university health sciences center campus on pharmacy needs and related behaviors on campus pharmacy utilization.
METHODS
Two focus groups of staff and 4 focus groups of prescribers were conducted over 1 month. Participants were selected through purposive sampling via email within an academic health sciences center campus over a 1-month period. The sessions were moderated by one investigator using a preconstructed discussion guide and lasted 1 hour. Two additional investigators observed sessions for nonverbal communication; all sessions were audio recorded for subsequent transcription. An open-coding process was performed on verbatim transcripts using NVivo12. The investigator team then developed, refined, and grouped themes during subsequent group discussions.
RESULTS
A total of 44 participants took part in 6 focus groups. Participants included prescribers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants) and staff (nonprescribers). Two major themes identified were (1) factors related to on-campus pharmacies and (2) qualities valued in a pharmacy. There was an equal split (8% for each group) on awareness of the on-campus pharmacies. Almost 11% of participants commented on the accessibility of a pharmacy being a quality valued in a pharmacy.
CONCLUSION
Focus groups provided insights for the administration team regarding additional value-added services that would be helpful for the campus community, as well as various approaches to increase utilization of the on-campus pharmacies. Focus group methodology is an effective approach to engage employees of a large university campus to garner new ideas to enhance existing policies or services, as well as to gather thoughts on preliminary strategic plans before implementation.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Outpatients; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacy; Community Pharmacy Services
PubMed: 35980283
DOI: 10.1093/ajhp/zxac232 -
International Journal of Clinical... Aug 2023When prescriptions are being processed in pharmacies, 'rework' is a phenomenon where an activity occurs that requires the return to a prior procedural step in the... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
When prescriptions are being processed in pharmacies, 'rework' is a phenomenon where an activity occurs that requires the return to a prior procedural step in the process for correction. To date, little is known regarding rework prevalence in community pharmacies or how this might be minimised.
AIM
To evaluate the cause and frequency of prescription rework in community pharmacies.
METHOD
A list of reworks was designed for community pharmacists to self-record prescription rework instances and causes in their workplace across a two-week period. Community pharmacists in Ireland were recruited via convenience sampling and snowballing. Descriptive statistics were used to assess rework frequency according to the various causes, as well as the pharmacist and pharmacy characteristics.
RESULTS
Eight pharmacists participated, recording 325 reworks across 92.9% of the 65 study days (mean 5 reworks/day). The pharmacists' mean ranged from 1.82 to 15 reworks/day. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alone or together were involved in 72.3% of reworks. The three most common rework categories were involving labelling errors (22.8%), prepared prescriptions which necessitated opening and repackaging (15.1%), and medication owings to patients (13.9%).
CONCLUSION
This study reveals that prescription rework occurs frequently in community pharmacies and has provided an indication of some of the main causes. These findings demonstrate areas where pharmacy staff can address rework and should aid the development of approaches to minimise rework in future - thus decreasing workload and facilitating more time for community pharmacy staff to focus on providing patient care.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacies; Community Pharmacy Services; Prescriptions; Pharmacy; Pharmacists
PubMed: 37160551
DOI: 10.1007/s11096-023-01563-3 -
The International Journal of Pharmacy... Feb 2018Effective strategies are needed to translate knowledge (evidence) into practice to improve the quality of community pharmacy services. We report the first step of a...
OBJECTIVES
Effective strategies are needed to translate knowledge (evidence) into practice to improve the quality of community pharmacy services. We report the first step of a novel knowledge translation process which involved the systematic identification and prioritisation of community pharmacy services in Scotland which were perceived to require improvement and/or guideline development.
METHODS
This process involved three stages and a stakeholder group comprising community pharmacists, policy makers, lay and pharmacy organisation representatives. A modified nominal group technique (NGT) was used for topic generation (August 2013) followed by an electronic Delphi survey (eDelphi), October-December 2013) and topic rationalisation (December 2013) based on feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact for practice improvement.
KEY FINDINGS
In total, 63 items were identified during the modified NGT which were categorised into 20 topics to form the starting point of the eDelphi. In total, 74 individuals (mostly community pharmacists) indicated an interest in the eDelphi, which achieved response rates of 63.5%, 67.6%, and 70.3%, respectively in Rounds 1, 2, and 3. Consensus was achieved with six topics: promoting the appropriate sale and supply of over-the-counter medicines; patient counselling for prescribed medication; pharmaceutical care to promote medication adherence; promotion and delivery of a Minor Ailment Scheme; pharmaceutical care of vulnerable patients; and effective use of community pharmacy workforce. Of these, the priority topic selected for the next stage of the programme was promoting the appropriate sale and supply of over-the-counter medicines.
CONCLUSIONS
This study adopted a systematic, inclusive, and rapid approach to identify priorities for community pharmacy practice improvement in Scotland.
Topics: Commerce; Community Pharmacy Services; Counseling; Humans; Medication Adherence; Nonprescription Drugs; Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Prescription Drugs; Professional Role; Quality Improvement; Scotland
PubMed: 28349646
DOI: 10.1111/ijpp.12354