Estimation of the cost of influenza antiviral medication guidance or support provided by healthcare professionals: a questionnaire survey in Japan

Abstract

Aims To estimate the cost of antiviral medication guidance and/or support from the perspective of healthcare professionals by administration route (oral or inhalant). Methods An online survey (December 2020) was conducted among physicians, pharmacists, and certified care workers. Those aged 20–64 years working in workplaces with experience of prescribing (physicians) or dispensing (pharmacists) antivirals for influenza, or having care service recipients who took antivirals (certified care workers) since October 2018, were selected through screening questions. The time required for guidance and/or support for drug administration was asked, and its monetary value was calculated by applying the Japanese average wage. Respondents who had a fear of infection while providing guidance and/or support were asked about the monetary value of this fear; the cost of fear was estimated from their responses and the percentage who reported such a fear. Results Responses were collected from 1,000 physicians, 1,000 pharmacists, and 642 certified care workers. The cost of the time for guidance and/or support in the entire workplace was estimated as JPY 244 (USD 2.14, as of October 2021) for oral antivirals and JPY 289 for inhalants among physicians, JPY 260 and JPY 428 among pharmacists, and JPY 555 and JPY 557 among certified care workers. The cost of fear was estimated to be JPY 965 for oral and JPY 1,361 for inhalants among physicians, JPY 756 and JPY 2,711 among pharmacists, and JPY 2,419 and JPY 2,837 among certified care workers. Limitations Respondents might not be representative of Japanese society. The reliability of the results depends on whether the respondents accurately understood the questions and their truthfulness. Conclusions Higher costs for guidance and/or support were suggested for inhalant antivirals in physicians and pharmacists compared to oral antivirals. For certified care workers, almost no difference in costs was suggested between administration routes.