Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Pharmacists Provided Medication-Related Services Among Outpatients in South-Eastern Nigeria Teaching Hospitals

Abstract

Little is known about the economic value of hospital pharmacists' cognitive services in Nigeria. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the willingness to pay (WTP) for hospital pharmacists' provided medication-related services among outpatients in SouthEastern Nigeria, and to explore its sociodemographic predictors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among outpatients receiving care in two Teaching Hospitals. Using contingent valuation, respondents' WTP were elicited for three pharmacist's services; namely patient education and counseling, drug therapy monitoring, and medication reconciliation. The price elasticity of demand for the services was determined. Descriptive statistics were used to present respondents' sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariate regressions were used to model the relationship between dependent and independent variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the 466 respondents, about half were female (52.6%) and aged 25-44 years (50.9%). Majority of the respondents had a tertiary education (63.9%). More than 65% of the patients surveyed were willing to pay an average of US$0.80 ± 1.17, US$0.83 ± 1.16, and US$0.91 ± 1.20 for patient education and counseling, drug therapy monitoring, and medication reconciliation, respectively. Price elasticity of demand for the services ranged from-0.19 to-1.00. Respondents' monthly income, income sufficiency, occupation, and health status were significant predictors of WTP for the services. Our findings suggest that a substantial proportion of respondents were willing to pay for hospital pharmacist's services. The major contributors to respondents' WTP were higher income, unemployment, and poor health status. Therefore, there is a promising potential for reimbursement of health institutions and service providers for medication-related services.