Underlying factors influencing community pharmacies business in low- to medium-developed markets: a societal perspective

Abstract

Objectives To identify (1) critical local factors affecting community pharmacy performance and (2) items that are important in assessing community pharmacy performance. Methods A cross-sectional survey based on the opinions of the pharmacists involved in managing a community pharmacy in Iran at least for 3 years by the time of the study was conducted, in 2014. The questionnaire was anonymous and self-administered and consisted of three parts, which constructed to address research questions. Descriptive and factor analysis were performed using SPSS (16.0.0). The size of the effect of each dimension was investigated by LISREL (8.54). Key findings Based on the respondents' opinions, product (0.89), leadership (0.86) and promotion (0.82) were the three most influencing intra-organisational dimensions, and price (0.37) was the least important one. Regard to extra-organisational factors, the highest and lowest scores were obtained for participants (0.86) and regulatory issues (0.58) respectively. Among performance assessment items, clients' results (0.76) and society results (0.22) set at the first and last priority respectively. Conclusions Authors believe that this study provides decision makers and researchers with a comprehensive collection of factors affecting the community pharmacy area, which after minor modifications based on local issues is applicable in countries that are similar to Iran with regard to the level of the reprofessionalisation of community pharmacies.

Challenges in the management of community pharmacies in Malaysia

“…Unfortunately, the government seems to be ambivalent and still unsure about the immense potential of community pharmacies in preventing and managing illnesses as well as promoting health. The challenges raised demonstrated similarities with extra-organisational factors identified by Rangchian et al 30. This indicates the importance of laying a strong legislative foundation to facilitate conducive community pharmacy practice, particularly in LMICs.…”

“…Therefore, a holistic view of the management challenges faced is warranted to capture the interplay between the diverse barriers and coping strategies, which influences community pharmacy practice and professional services provision. As observed in several recent studies, this context provides more insights compared to studies focusing on barriers faced in the provision of specific pharmacy services per se 8,29,30. In the Malaysian context, the various challenges resulted in under-utilisation of community pharmacists’ clinical skills and knowledge 31.…”

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

“…Factors affecting community pharmacy businesses can be categorised as intra‐organisational (which are within the controls of community pharmacy managers to manipulate) or extra‐organisational (which are issues beyond their direct control) . Intra‐organisational factors include the characteristics of pharmacy personnel, physical layout of the pharmacy, range of inventory and quality of services .…”

“…Factors affecting community pharmacy businesses can be categorised as intra‐organisational (which are within the controls of community pharmacy managers to manipulate) or extra‐organisational (which are issues beyond their direct control) . Intra‐organisational factors include the characteristics of pharmacy personnel, physical layout of the pharmacy, range of inventory and quality of services . Externally, operations of community pharmacies are often affected by market competition, customer sentiments and macroeconomic conditions as well as relevant policies and policy changes by the government …”

“…Intra‐organisational factors include the characteristics of pharmacy personnel, physical layout of the pharmacy, range of inventory and quality of services . Externally, operations of community pharmacies are often affected by market competition, customer sentiments and macroeconomic conditions as well as relevant policies and policy changes by the government …”