Abstract:
Introduction
In Malaysia, healthcare consumers often receive free pharmacist professional services (PPS) such as point-of-care testing (POCT), blood pressure monitoring, medication review and smoking cessation consultation without purchasing pharmaceutical products. Examples of POCT are blood glucose and lipid profile checking. Altruistic behavior of community pharmacists posed financial constraints to pharmacists and pharmacies to sustain PPS. Remuneration can aid sustainable PPS service. Therefore, it is vital to identify the drivers influencing healthcare consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for PPS.
Objective
PPS has posed financial burden to community pharmacists who constantly provide PPS out of altruism. Sustainability and provision of PPS will be challenged if no proper compensation scheme is implemented to community pharmacists. Hence, this study aims to identify if and how much a healthcare consumer is willing to pay for different types of PPS and to explore the factors influencing their WTP for PPS.
Methods
A qualitative approach using combination of purposive and convenience sampling methods was engaged in recruitment of healthcare consumers to participate in semi-structured individual interviews. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted from May 2019 to July 2019. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. NVivo 10 was employed to facilitate the thematic analysis.
Results
Majority of participants were willing to pay RM 10 to RM 50 for dispensing, medication review and smoking cessation services. Four major themes were established: (1) Perceived trustworthiness of the pharmacists, (2) Consumer’s individual motivation, (3) Quality of PPS, and (4) Attractiveness of pharmacy stores. The primary factor influencing WTP for PPS is consumer’s individual motivation which comprises of several sub-themes, including perceived need and value of PPS, complexity of consumers’ conditions, “financial commitment” as the motivator and consumers’ characteristics. Nevertheless, some participants were not willing to pay because they perceived it was pharmacist’s role to provide the PPS.
Conclusion
This qualitative research offers better insights to community pharmacists on the drivers influencing healthcare consumers’ WTP for PPS.
Keywords: Pharmacists; Willingness to pay; Pharmacist professional services; Healthcare consumers; Qualitative research; Malaysia
