Title
Patient acceptability of and readiness-to-pay for pharmacy-based health membership plans to improve hypertension outcomes in Lima, Peru
Date Issued
01 May 2017
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Inc.
Abstract
Introduction Pharmacies have been used to improve population health in Peru and other countries globally, operating as a non-traditional health access point. A pharmacy-based model holds potential to improve patient management of hypertension, a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient acceptability of hypertension services and health membership plans, if offered through private pharmacies in the future. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 347 hypertensive individuals who purchased anti-hypertensive medications in a private pharmacy during the study period (July–October 2012). The study included a brief survey assessing patients’ acceptability of and readiness-to-pay for pharmacy-based hypertension management services. Chi-square tests for differences in proportions were used to evaluate whether any demographic characteristics (e.g., binary variables for age, time since diagnosis, and type of medication usually purchased) could identify groups of hypertensive individuals that might be more or less likely to use pharmacy-based services. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate associations between readiness-to-pay for pharmacy-based health membership plans and patient-level characteristics. Results Over 80% of individuals indicated they would be interested in pharmacy-based hypertension services, particularly discounts on anti-hypertensive medications and free blood pressure screenings. Compared to individuals 65 years of age or older, individuals under 65 years were more interested in receiving at least one pharmacy-based service. Another 80% indicated they would be interested in purchasing a monthly health plan through a pharmacy that provided access to hypertension services each month. The vast majority of individuals interested in pharmacy-based services indicated they would pay ≤$3.69 US/month to participate in a monthly health membership plan. Conclusions Hypertensive patients would be interested in using and ready to pay for pharmacy-based hypertension services.
Start page
589
End page
601
Volume
13
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias del cuidado de la salud y servicios (administración de hospitales, financiamiento)
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84998530637
PubMed ID
Source
Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
ISSN of the container
1551-7411
Sponsor(s)
The project described was supported by Grant Number R24TW008829 from the Fogarty International Center. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Fogarty International Center or the National Institutes of Health.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus