Perceived satisfaction and outcomes from drug information center services provided with a telehealth approach

Abstract

Background and Aim: Telehealth expansion is dependent on the acceptance and satisfaction of the providers and users of the telehealth service and the impact on the overall health‑care system. This study was conducted to evaluate the outcome of pharmacist‑led telehealth services and satisfaction of their users.

Materials and Methods: The telehealth‑based drug information center service was an 8‑month retrospective, descriptive study that evaluated users’ service satisfaction (quality of service), general health outcomes, recommendations, and personal health outcomes by electronically distributing a questionnaire to the users using a Donabedian model approach. Results: The feedback response rate was 87.33% (N = 131). The majority of users were 25–34‑year‑old young adults, while regarding the background status of the enquirers (health‑care worker, medical doctor, nurse, patient, phar macist, practitioner/scientist), 35 (26.7%) pharmacists and 34 (26.0%) patients were the most prevalent users. In terms of service satisfaction and health outcome, medical doctors had the highest mean ratings of 4.67 ± 0.76 and 4.95 ± 0.21, respectively. Evaluation of the pharmacist‑led telehealth impact was measured with four variables, which showed a statistical significance of P < 0.001 and a highly positive mean rating generally (service satisfaction 4.44 ± 0.83, general health outcome 4.54 ± 0.85, personal health outcome 4.80 ± 0.58, and recommendation 4.85 ± 0.43). The findings also showed that user satisfaction significantly impacted on personal health outcomes (P < 0.001), and that there was an insignificant relationship between user background status and continents.

Conclusions: The study reveals the significant impact of pharmacist‑led telehealth services and the importance of incorporating telehealth services into drug information centers.