Consumer perceptions of direct-to-consumer electronic prescription services in Queensland, Australia.

Cossart, AR; Kennedy, E; Yong, FR; Hillen, JB; Freeman, CR

Consumer perceptions of direct-to-consumer electronic prescription services in Queensland, Australia.

Cossart, AR Kennedy, E Yong, FR Hillen, JB Freeman, CR

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Publisher:: SAGE Publications
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Digit Health, 2024, 10, pp. 20552076241294184
Issue Date:: 2024

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cossart, AR
dc.contributor.author	Kennedy, E
dc.contributor.author	Yong, FR
dc.contributor.author	Hillen, JB
dc.contributor.author	Freeman, CR
dc.date.accessioned	2025-01-02T04:05:04Z
dc.date.available	2024-10-10
dc.date.available	2025-01-02T04:05:04Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.identifier.citation	Digit Health, 2024, 10, pp. 20552076241294184
dc.identifier.issn	2055-2076
dc.identifier.issn	2055-2076
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182808
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) electronic prescription services (EPS) are a novel addition to the Australian healthcare landscape. This study aimed to explore consumers' perceptions on how this model of care supports the delivery of best-practice care. METHOD: Focus groups participants were recruited through social media and included adults aged 18 years or older, Queensland (Australia) residents, and interested in DTC EPS. Focus groups were conducted via Zoom® and repeated until data saturation. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to elicit consumer perception themes from focus group discussions and field notes. RESULTS: Three focus groups were conducted between July and August 2022 and included 13 participants of which two (15%) had previously used DTC EPS. Four major perception themes were induced: (a) Consumer responsibility. There is an assumed level of consumer health literacy leading to an unacceptable burden of responsibility on the patient; (b) System processes appear to be underdeveloped to support best-practice care; (c) Access to convenient and timely healthcare will be improved for many patients, however, out of pocket expenses may promote inequity; and (d) Service model improvements can address safety and quality concerns including integration of the model within existing national digital health platforms. CONCLUSION: Participants believed that DTC EPS was a valuable addition to the Australian health care landscape increasing convenient and timely access to medicines for consumers. Participants were concerned that a heavy reliance on health literacy and underdeveloped system processes may lead to unsafe prescribing.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications
dc.relation.ispartof	Digit Health
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/20552076241294184
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject.classification	4203 Health services and systems
dc.title	Consumer perceptions of direct-to-consumer electronic prescription services in Queensland, Australia.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	10
utslib.location.activity	United States
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	in_progress	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-01-02T04:05:02Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	10

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) electronic prescription services (EPS) are a novel addition to the Australian healthcare landscape. This study aimed to explore consumers' perceptions on how this model of care supports the delivery of best-practice care. METHOD: Focus groups participants were recruited through social media and included adults aged 18 years or older, Queensland (Australia) residents, and interested in DTC EPS. Focus groups were conducted via Zoom® and repeated until data saturation. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to elicit consumer perception themes from focus group discussions and field notes. RESULTS: Three focus groups were conducted between July and August 2022 and included 13 participants of which two (15%) had previously used DTC EPS. Four major perception themes were induced: (a) Consumer responsibility. There is an assumed level of consumer health literacy leading to an unacceptable burden of responsibility on the patient; (b) System processes appear to be underdeveloped to support best-practice care; (c) Access to convenient and timely healthcare will be improved for many patients, however, out of pocket expenses may promote inequity; and (d) Service model improvements can address safety and quality concerns including integration of the model within existing national digital health platforms. CONCLUSION: Participants believed that DTC EPS was a valuable addition to the Australian health care landscape increasing convenient and timely access to medicines for consumers. Participants were concerned that a heavy reliance on health literacy and underdeveloped system processes may lead to unsafe prescribing.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/182808