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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Drugs Outcomes Research and Policies
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1520058
This article is part of the Research Topic Clinical Pharmacist Service Promotes the Improvement of Medical Quality Volume II View all 33 articles

Analysis of Factors Influencing the Awareness of Inpatients Regarding Hospital Clinical Pharmacy Services and Willingness to Pay: A Multicenter Survey in Hebei Province, China

Provisionally accepted
Ruixia Yang Ruixia Yang 1*Xin Wang Xin Wang 1*Huizhen Wu Huizhen Wu 2*Qian Sun Qian Sun 3*Sijie Zhang Sijie Zhang 4*Qian Dong Qian Dong 5*Mengjiao Li Mengjiao Li 1*Xiaoli Xu Xiaoli Xu 6*Jing Bai Jing Bai 1*Ping Liang Ping Liang 1*Juan Hou Juan Hou 1*
  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
  • 2 Department of Pharmacy, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 3 Department of Pharmacy, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 4 Department of Cardiology, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 5 Department of Medical oncology, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
  • 6 Medical Record Room, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: In China, recent healthcare reforms recognize and compensate for pharmacy services. However, patient awareness of these services and their willingness to pay (WTP) remain underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to examine inpatient understanding of pharmacy services, their WTP in Hebei Province, and the factors affecting it. Methods: Between July and August 2024, a questionnaire was used to survey inpatients from 22 medical institutions across 11 prefecture-level cities in Hebei Province regarding their awareness of WTP for pharmacy services. Further investigation targeted inpatients unwilling to pay. The survey results were analyzed descriptively, with frequencies and percentages (%) used for categorical data and continuous data were presented as mean ± standard deviation (X±SD). The chi-square test was used to determine statistically significant influences, and logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant factors affecting inpatient WTP for pharmacy services. A column-line graph was validated using receiver operating characteristic curves and calibration graph analysis. Results: In total, 464 questionnaires were distributed, with 432 valid responses, yielding a 93.10% effective response rate. Most inpatients (89.58%) viewed hospital pharmacists as primarily responsible for dispensing medication, while only 5.79% were aware of broader pharmacy services. Despite this, 72.69% of the inpatients were willing to receive pharmacy services, and 95.38% of those who had received such services found them beneficial. Half of the inpatients (216, or 50.00%) indicated WTP for pharmacy services. Among those initially unwilling to pay (216 inpatients), 102 indicated they would consider payment if a doctor recommended clinical pharmacist guidance. Of the 318 inpatients who were WTP, 315 (99.06%) chose health insurance reimbursement as a payment method. Key factors influencing inpatient WTP included literacy level, preferred source of medication counseling, prior pharmacy service experience, understanding of pharmacy service policies, and readiness to recommend these services (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Most inpatients lacked knowledge and trust in clinical pharmacists, with limited awareness of the value of pharmacy services. However, they demonstrated high acceptance and WTP for these services, with nearly all inpatients preferring health insurance reimbursement. Integrating pharmacy service fees into health insurance is crucial for promoting these services.

    Keywords: Pharmacy services, Willingness to pay, inpatient awareness, Clinical pharmacists, Healthcare Policy

    Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 17 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yang, Wang, Wu, Sun, Zhang, Dong, Li, Xu, Bai, Liang and Hou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ruixia Yang, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Xin Wang, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Huizhen Wu, Department of Pharmacy, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, 050051, Hebei Province, China
    Qian Sun, Department of Pharmacy, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050000, Hebei Province, China
    Sijie Zhang, Department of Cardiology, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
    Qian Dong, Department of Medical oncology, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050020, Hebei Province, China
    Mengjiao Li, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Xiaoli Xu, Medical Record Room, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
    Jing Bai, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Ping Liang, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Juan Hou, Department of Pharmacy, Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.