Application and evaluation of online medication consultation of the Internet-based pharmacy service (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND With the rapid advancement of the internet, accessing medication information and seeking online consultations have become increasingly prevalent for recent years. Pharmacy consultation plays an important role in enhancing medication adherence and optimizing medication therapy. OBJECTIVE This article aims to understand the demographic characteristics of users engaging, types of consultation questions and classification of involved drugs in internet medication consultations to evaluate the accessibility and efficacy of Internet-based pharmacy consultation. METHODS Online medication consultations service based on internet hospital was established. Data collection took place between January 2021 and July 2023. Data including sex, age, types of consultation questions and classification of involved drugs were collected for all patients receiving medication consultation. RESULTS A total of 1122 medication consultations were collected, including 967 online consultations and 155 offline consultations. The age distribution of the Internet medication consultation population is mainly between 18-44 years old (78.90%), while the age distribution of the pharmaceutical outpatient department is relatively balanced. There are more female consultees than male consultees regardless of the form of medication consultation. For patients seeking for online medication consultation, the top five types of consultation questions involved drug dosage/administration(28.44%)，drug interaction(13.44%), drug availability(12.41%), adverse drug reactions (10.65%), and rational drug selection (8.17%). CONCLUSIONS Compared with traditional medication consultation, Internet-based pharmacy consultation represents a promising trend in the healthcare industry, offering convenience, accessibility, and personalized solutions to patients. However, due to the age differences of Internet users and the shortcomings of text communication, online consultation was not appropriate for patients with polypharmacy or complicated drug-related problems. Future research and initiatives should focus on tailoring online healthcare platforms to meet the specific needs of diverse user groups.