Abstract
BackgroundDemand for health services continues to rise. Greater use of community pharmacy services instead of medical services for minor ailments could help relieve pressure on healthcare providers in high-cost settings. Community pharmacies are recognised sources of treatment and advice for people wishing to manage these ailments. However, increasing the public’s use of pharmacy services may depend on attributes of pharmacies and their staff. This study aimed to determine the general public’s relative preferences for community pharmacy attributes using a discrete choice experiment (DCE).MethodA UK-wide DCE survey of the general public was conducted using face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews. Attributes and levels for the DCE were informed by a literature review and a cohort study of community pharmacy customers. The context for the experiment was a minor ailment scenario describing flu-like symptoms. The DCE choice sets described two hypothetical community pharmacy services; respondents were asked to choose which (if either) of the two pharmacies they would prefer to help them manage symptoms. Data from 1,049 interviews were analysed using an error components logit model. Willingness to pay (WTP), a monetary measure of benefit, was estimated for the different attribute levels.ResultsWhen seeking help or treatment for flu-like symptoms, respondents most valued a pharmacy service that would improve their understanding and management of symptoms (WTP = £6.28), provided by staff who are trained (WTP (pharmacist) = £2.63: WTP(trained assistant) = £3.22), friendly and approachable (WTP = £3.38). Waiting time, pharmacy location and availability of parking also contributed to respondents’ preferences. WTP for a service comprising the best possible combination of attributes and levels was calculated as £55.43.ConclusionAttributes of a community pharmacy and its staff may influence people’s decisions about which pharmacy they would visit to access treatment and advice for minor ailments. In line with the public’s preferences, offering community pharmacy services that help people to better understand and manage symptoms, are provided promptly by trained staff who are friendly and approachable, and in a local setting with easy access to parking, has the potential to increase uptake amongst those seeking help to manage minor ailments. In this way it may be possible to shift demand away from high-cost health services and make more efficient use of scarce public resources.
Highlights
Community pharmacies are widely recognised as locations from which people seek advice and treatment for the management of minor ailments
Our previous research demonstrated that for minor ailments characterised by flu-like symptoms or acute diarrhoea, people stated a preference for self-care when managing their symptoms.[4,5]
A substantial proportion of emergency department (ED) visits and appointments with general practitioner (GP) in the United Kingdom (UK) are for self-limiting conditions that could have been managed without medical intervention, and a similar pattern has been observed in other countries.[6,7,8,9,10,11]
Summary
Community pharmacies are widely recognised as locations from which people seek advice and treatment for the management of minor ailments. A substantial proportion of emergency department (ED) visits and appointments with GPs in the United Kingdom (UK) are for self-limiting conditions that could have been managed without medical intervention, and a similar pattern has been observed in other countries.[6,7,8,9,10,11] A recent study in the UK estimated that at least 5% of ED visits and 13% of GP appointments concerned such conditions, and that this might cost the National Health Service (NHS) over £1 billion each year.[6] Demand for high-cost health services in the UK continues to rise[12] despite national initiatives that encourage the public to use alternative healthcare services such as telephone helplines, websites providing health advice, nurse-led minor illness clinics, walk-in clinics and community pharmacy services such as Minor Ailments Schemes (MAS).[13,14,15,16] MAS allow patients who are exempt from paying NHS prescription fees to register with a community pharmacy and receive advice and/or treatment for minor ailments, paid for by the NHS. This study aimed to determine the general public’s relative preferences for community pharmacy attributes using a discrete choice experiment (DCE).
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