Table 2.
Advantages and disadvantages: behavioral beliefs.
| Superordinate theme, subtheme and composition | Participants who highlighted the theme | ||||
| Superordinate theme 1: perceived advantages of buying POMsa on the web | |||||
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Avoiding long NHSb waiting times | ||||
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Consumers wanted to avoid long NHS waiting times for various reasons (eg, to save time and because they need the medicine urgently, as they cannot tolerate the pain) | 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 14, and 17 | ||
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Bypassing gatekeepers | ||||
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Can obtain POMs on the web when physicians or pharmacist refuse to dispense the medicine | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 19 | ||
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Medicines availability | ||||
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Availability of medicines that are not licensed in the United Kingdom but licensed in other countries | 9, 11, and 13 | ||
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Availability of medicines that are not available in the NHS (out of stock) | 3, 5, and 6 | ||
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Availability of extra quantities and bulk purchasing | 2, 6, 7, 9, 15, and 18 | ||
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Availability of branded medicines (for those who prefer branded medicines) | 9 and 14 | ||
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Lower costs | ||||
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Costs lower than the NHS prescription charge | 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 17, and 18 | ||
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Convenient process | ||||
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Quick purchase and saves the effort of visiting a physician and pharmacy, as the medicine is delivered to the consumer | 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 | ||
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Privacy | ||||
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Avoids embarrassment (not necessary to admit to their illness or need) | 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, and 19 | ||
| Superordinate theme 2: perceived disadvantages of buying POMs on the web | |||||
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Medicine safety concerns | ||||
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Lack of medical oversight and its consequences (eg, drug-drug interactions and misuse of medicines) | 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, and 17 | ||
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Could be fake medicines | 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, and 20 | ||
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Medicine quality concerns | ||||
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Potential to receive ineffective medicines, expired medicines, or medicine stored in poor storage conditions | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, and 18 | ||
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Higher costs | ||||
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More expensive than the medicines obtained through the NHS (especially in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) or high delivery costs | 3, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, and 20 | ||
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Web-based payment risks | ||||
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Financial losses because the medicine is not useful or because of the risk of a financial scam or the risk of identity theft | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18 | ||
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Lack of accountability | ||||
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No accountability exists to ensure the safety of the purchased products | 6, 7, and 18 | ||
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Engage in an illegal behavior | ||||
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Fear of being caught in possession of a controlled drug | 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 18, 19, and 20 | ||
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Ending up buying stolen medicines | 9 | ||
aPOM: prescription-only medicine.
bNHS: National Health Services.