Factors affecting pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in community pharmacy: A structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

Background:The concept of customer engagement and devotion has been applied in various service businesses to keep the customers with business However, a limited number of studies were performed to examine the context of customer engagement and devotion in pharmacy business which focus on the impact of customer perceptions about pharmacists, perceived quality of pharmacy structure, medication price strategy on pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in a pharmacy providing pharmaceutical care to the customers.Objective:This study aimed to assess a conceptual model depicting the relationships among customer perceptions about pharmacists, pharmacy quality structure, medication price, customer engagement, and customer devotion. And also aimed to assess and measure if there is a direct or indirect relationship between these factors.Methods:A quantitative study was conducted by using self-administered questionnaires. Two hundred and fifty three customers who regularly visited the pharmacy were randomly recruited from a purposively selected 30 community pharmacies in Bangkok. The survey was completed during February to April 2016. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect relationships between constructs.Results:A total of 253/300 questionnaires were returned for analysis, and the response rate was 84%. Only perceptions about pharmacist in customers receiving professional pharmacy services was statically significant regarding relationship with pharmacy engagement (beta=0.45). Concurrently, the model from empirical data fit with the hypothetical model (p-value = 0.06, adjusted chi-square (CMIN/DF)=1.16, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI)=0.93, Comparatively Fit Index (CFI)=0.99, and Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA)=0.03).Conclusion:The study confirmed the indirect positive influence of customer perceptions about pharmacist on pharmacy customer devotion in providing pharmacy services via pharmacy engagement It was customer perceptions about pharmacist that influenced customer retention, positive word of mouth and constructive advice to pharmacies, not quality of pharmacy structure and medication price. To create a long term impact on community pharmacy business, pharmacist is the key success factor.

Experience of Patients with COPD of Pharmacists’ Provided Care: A Qualitative Study

“…In response to this, participants had increased confidence in the pharmacists’ practice and expressed a strong sense of loyalty to their pharmacists, based on trust and a sense of safety. These findings are echoed by another study suggesting that positive customer perceptions of the pharmacist significantly influence devotion [ 47 ].…”

“…Other methods through which lack of time may be addressed include more than one pharmacist working at a time and, if allowed by the law, having a technician checking the prescriptions filled by other technicians, as against the pharmacist's [51]. The lack of awareness of pharmacy services and the participants' perception of pharmacists as being too busy may have limited some participants' expectations of the pharmacist, and this aligns with existing evidence [44,47,48,52]. It is therefore important to put more effort into increasing the public's awareness of pharmacy services to improve care and patients' experiences of care [42,52].…”

Health-promoting services provided in pharmacies

“…[ 10 21 22 ] Providing various services would be effective only when people be aware of and utilize them. [ 34 ]…”

How does perceived cost and value influence pharmacy patronage? A scoping review

“…Most studies were conducted in Australia ( n = 7) (Hamilton, 2009; McMillan et al , 2014; Murphy et al , 2016; Peterson et al , 2010; Rabbanee et al , 2015; Whitehead et al , 1999; Whitty et al , 2015), USA ( n = 5) (Larson, 1998; Martin, 1994; Shiyanbola and Mort, 2015; Stergachis et al , 2002; Wu et al , 2011), UK ( n = 4) (McElnay et al , 1993; Phul et al , 2003; Porteous et al , 2016; Watson et al , 2019), Estonia ( n = 2) (Villako and Raal, 2007; Villako et al , 2012), with one study in each of Bangladesh (Chowdhury et al , 2017), France (Bonnal and Moinier, 2014), Germany (Guhl et al , 2019), Greece (Kevrekidis et al , 2018), Palestine (Khdour and Hallak, 2012), Portugal (Cavaco et al , 2005), South Africa (Mpanza et al , 2019) and Thailand (Nitadpakorn et al , 2017).…”