Preferences of patients regarding community pharmacy services: A discrete choice experiment

Abstract

Background: The community pharmacy profession is in transition, with emphasis on the provision of cognitive pharmaceutical services (CPS). In contrast, previous research showed that the general public prefers more convenience related services. However, this was based on currently available services and not on innovative services. Objective: To identify patients’ preferences regarding innovative pharmacy services and whether they tend towards convenience related or CPS. Design: Online survey using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Participants: Participants were from the AMP pharmacy patient panel. Main outcome measures: Preferences (utility scores) and the identification of specific classes (latent class analysis). Results: In total 2462 panel members (27.3%) filled out the completed the online DCE questionnaire. The majority of participants were male (54.1%) with an average age of 65.3 years and used on average 4.6 medicines. Four patient classes were distinguished based on preferences for services. Highly preferred were an online mediation record, prescription drugs for minor ailments without a doctors’ prescription and clinical testing with diagnosis by the pharmacist. Discussion and conclusion: The majority of participants tend towards a more CPS focused approach by the community pharmacist. Patients visiting community pharmacies can have a diverging set of preferences regarding services being provided. In daily practice, community pharmacists should provide both convenience and CPS related services to address this diverse set of preferences.