Introduction

This paper describes preliminary results from the evaluation of a novel system of remote supervision in community pharmacy. Pharmacy Plus – a small chain pharmacy in SW England – has developed an IT based decision support system to supervise the sale of medicines and dispensing of prescriptions. It involves the use of a 'remote' pharmacist (ie. a pharmacist who is not physically present in the pharmacy, but who supervises medicines sales and dispensing via the use of point-of-sale, PMR data bases and communication technologies). In short, pharmacy technicians are guided by sophisticated protocols, which are overseen by the remote pharmacist before the technician can dispense or sell a medicine. Remote consultations between customer and pharmacist can be initiated via a web came link. This paper reports on how pharmacy customers viewed this development.

Method

A series of five focus groups were held with customers, recruited from two Pharmacy Plus outlets operating this system. Focus group participants were customers who had either experienced remote supervision (ie spoken to a pharmacist via the web cam link) or had been told about it. Customers were provided with additional information about the system which had been approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee. The numbers of customers attending the focus groups ranged from 5 to 9 and consisted of both individuals with chronic illness and more casual pharmacy users. Each group was facilitated by PB and was tape-recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were then searched by PB and verified by CA for repeated themes using constant comparison as an analytical framework.

Results

Although many customers had reservations about the system of remote supervision, the overwhelming majority positively welcomed it because they believed it would enhance access to medicines services. Some customers with chronic illnesses suggested they would welcome such a system being available on a 24 hour basis, in certain pharmacies. Furthermore, those that had spoken to the pharmacist via the web cam link had found the technology easy to use.
Some had concerns about the quality of the visual link and questioned if it was sufficiently clear for the effective diagnosis of minor ailments. A small number felt that remote supervision might negatively impact on the pharmacist-customer relationship, particularly those customers who had built a close relationship with the pharmacist. Many felt the operation of the system should be restricted to quiet periods or for times when the pharmacy would not normally open.

Discussion

The results of this preliminary evaluation suggests that whilst customers had a number of concerns about remote supervision, these were more than counterbalanced by a belief that the system would provide for improvements in access to medicines and pharmacy services.