Investigating Community Pharmacist Experiences with Telepharmacy in the Absence of Regulatory Support in Indonesia

Telepharmacy has been increasingly used in Indonesian community pharmacies despite the absence of a policy regulating the services. In tandem with the lack of standardized pharmaceutical care, providing telepharmacy services may vary across community pharmacies. This study investigates the contemporary practice of telepharmacy in Indonesian community pharmacy.

A cross-sectional survey using a validated online questionnaire was conducted. The targeted participants were community pharmacists who claimed to have provided telepharmacy service daily. The participants were approached using purposive sampling and extended using the accidental sampling method. The questionnaire asked about several activities that pharmacists do when delivering telepharmacy services. The data were subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Overall, 250 pharmacists participated in the online survey. Most respondents were female (73.6%) and less than 41 years old (78.6%). Despite respondents claiming to know telepharmacy (70%), more than half (52%) never attended any training and workshops on telepharmacy. Chat messaging apps were common platforms for telepharmacy (87.2%). Low patient uptake was evident in most pharmacies (74.4%). More than 96% of respondents ensured the accuracy of patient data before delivering the service. This includes verifying patient prescriptions and checking the prescribed medicines with patient history. However, fewer pharmacists frequently documented patient data (36%), communicated care plans to patients (22%), provided drug information (2.9%), and monitored outcomes (29.2%).

The lack of regulation has contributed to unstandardized telepharmacy practice. Despite the untapped potential, the growth of telepharmacy services in Indonesian community pharmacies is uncertain, with ongoing support from the regulation needed.