Workload Perception of Medication and Patient Information Exchange with Medical Institutions at Pharmacies: Considerations for Healthcare Digital Transformation

Abstract

This study examined medication and patient information exchange at pharmacies, focusing on perceived workload, willingness to pay (WTP) for healthcare digital transformation (DX) implementation, and related factors. This study systematically analyzed the relationships between these factors to explore the challenges in advancing DX use in pharmacies. The results indicated that while the exchange of medication and patient information has expanded, many respondents reported “inconvenience” and “burden by the efforts required to resolve issues related to information gaps.” These findings underscore the need to promote healthcare DX. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that inconvenience in information exchange was associated with the presence of “medical institutions with which information is closely exchanged” and “medical institutions sending medication information reports [tracing reports (TR)].” Additionally, efforts to resolve information gaps were linked to pharmacies classified as “Pharmacy Basic Fee 1” and the presence of “inconvenience.” Furthermore, the WTP for DX implementation was associated with factors such as “number of group stores,” “number of prescriptions processed per pharmacist,” and “number of medical institutions responding to TR.” These findings highlight the challenges in managing medication and patient information exchange at pharmacies and provide insights into the direction of DX implementation.