Exploring strategies to overcome extra-organisational challenges faced by community pharmacies in Sarawak, Malaysia

Kho, Boon Phiaw; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Lim, Ching Jou; Saleem, Fahad

doi:10.1111/ijpp.12438

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The "personal prices" of medicines and higher mark-up rates have created intense competition among healthcare providers around the country [12]. The competition intensifies as most Malaysian consumers prefer to buy medicines from community pharmacies due to long waiting times and lack of certain medicines at public healthcare institutes [13]. However, even in the presence of such extensive competition, a big price disparity is consistently observed among Malaysian private healthcare settings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-sectional Study on the Impact of Discount Pricing and Price Competition on Community Pharmacy Practice

Mathews

Ming

Rose

2020

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Without stipulated legislation, a free pricing policy can lead to a disparity in prices among private healthcare setups. Competition is especially rampant among community pharmacies, especially in the Sabah state of Malaysia, where the recent years have witnessed the steady growth of pharmacy players from Peninsular Malaysia. Thus, this study aimed to examine the impact of price competition and discount pricing on the practice of community pharmacy in Sabah, Malaysia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire. Survey participants included community pharmacists practicing in Sabah. The validated and pilot-tested questionnaire consisted of three parts: background information of the pharmacy, attitudes and perception toward medicine prices, and practice of discount pricing. All required data were collected from community pharmacists practicing only in Sabah. Data were then analyzed by using descriptive, Chi-Square, and Kendall's tau-b tests. Results Of the 150 community pharmacists contacted, only 70 responded, providing a response rate of 47%. In terms of pharmacy type, 71% of the respondents were pharmacist-owned independent pharmacies, while 19% were pharmacy chains owned by community pharmacists. The remaining were pharmacies owned by non-pharmacists (10%). Sixty percent of the community pharmacies had been in existence for more than 10 years, with 12% in existence for less than two years, and 28% in existence for three to 10 years. More than 80% of the respondents stated that the business aspect of community pharmacy had overwhelmed the professional practice aspects and that community pharmacists have become providers of products instead of providers of care. In terms of professionalism, 87% also noted that they are being perceived as profiteering in the medicine business at the expense of patients.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%