Pharmacy vending machines have become widespread in the last years and represent an additional way of selling pharmacy products, as they generally enable a fast and anonymous 24/7 service. In some countries, they are also used to sell medicines. The purpose of this master's thesis was to make an overview of the state of pharmacy vending machines in Slovenia and to obtain key stakeholders' insight into their advantages and disadvantages, with special emphasis on dispensing medicines. We conducted 9 interviews with key stakeholders, that included 3 MPharm’s, 2 representatives of regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical societies and trade unions, and 4 patients. Interviewees were included until saturation of the obtained information occurred. We wanted to find out interviewees' experiences with pharmacy vending machines, what their general opinion about them was, their advantages and disadvantages, and a more detailed opinion on dispensing medicines. The interviews were recorded and transcripts were prepared. The obtained data were qualitatively analyzed with the NVivo 11 Pro software. Records were coded and divided into themes and sub-themes. Participants' positive views on pharmacy vending machines and the purchase of medicines via them were most often associated with a faster service and the possibility of 24/7 access. Relieving the workload of pharmacists who could devote time to other duties was also often mentioned. Participants’ negative views were most often reflected in potential medicine abuse or misuse of medicines, and the related risks of side effects or interactions due to the absence of pharmaceutical consultation, with stakeholders from the pharmaceutical profession often expressing this aspect more strongly than stakeholders from the patient category. The danger of vandalizing was also often mentioned, approximately equally represented among stakeholders. In general, stakeholders expressed more concerns about the dispensing of medicines via pharmacy vending machines than potential advantages, and agreed that strict regulation is necessary before such a step. Given that in Slovenia and both on a European and global scale this is a rather new method of dispensing medicines, we believe that a more detailed analysis of individual negative aspects and the benefit-risk ratio of dispensing medicines via pharmacy vending machines is needed. Last but not least, we believe that the inclusion of all key stakeholders is also essential when preparing possible changes in legislation.
|
