Table 3.
Advantages of telepharmacy.
| Category (UTAUT Elements Relevant to the Category) | Sub-Category | Typical Comments (Responded Pharmacist) |
|---|---|---|
| Better communication (Performance expectancy) |
Able to talk in a relaxed fashion | The first thing I thought was that, you know, it is because the patients are at home. They are more relaxed than usual, and since it is one-on-one, it is easier to have an open, more in-depth conversation. (PI) |
| Able to talk to a person who is assisting the patient with his/her daily life | In the case of elderly patients, it is ideal to have them listen to the medication instructions with their family members for many reasons. With medication counseling via telepharmacy, the patient can listen medication counseling with their family when they are available. (PD) | |
| Able to concentrate on the medication counseling | I feel that patinets are very conscious of what we are saying to them. (PG) | |
| A high degree of privacy | I feel that telepharmacy is more private. (PF) | |
| Easier to refer information on the internet during medication counseling | When a patient asks a question during medication instruction, I can refer the Internet for data, and also send them a pdf file I found. (PG) | |
| Easier to check on patients’ medication adherence | We can easily check how much medication they have left (PI) | |
| Time savings (Performance expectancy) |
I think a big advantage in that it places relatively few time constraints on both parties, and it eliminates waiting time. Patients don’t have to wait to pay, it can be done right away on credit, so there’s no loss of time for either party (PK) | |
| Improved safety (Performance expectancy) |
Protection from infection | In cases of infection, such as COVID-19, if it’s online, patients and pharmacists both can feel safe. (PH) |
| Avoidance of travel-related risks | It’s very hot right now, isn’t it? Everyone don’t want to go outside as much as possible. More and more elderly people are requesting delivery medicines because of the danger of heat stroke, etc. I think telepharmacy would be very convenient for such people. (PI) | |