Kc Bhuvan, Lim Dorothy, Low Chia Chia, Chew Connie, Blebil Ali Qais, Dujaili Juman Abdulelah, Alrasheedy Alian A
School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Unaizah, Saudi Arabia.
JMIR Med Inform. 2020 Jul 8;8(7):e17982. doi: 10.2196/17982.
Information and communication technology (ICT) is an essential element of modern "smart" cities. These smart cities have integrated housing, marketplace, public amenities, services, business, and transportation via ICT. ICT is also now widely used in urban health care delivery.
The aim of this study was to determine the positioning and roles of ICT in community pharmacies in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to January 2019 across 9 different subdistricts in the state of Selangor, including Subang Jaya, Cheras, Puchong, Port Klang, Kota Kemuning, Selayang, Chow Kit, Ampang, and Seri Kembangan. A total of 90 community pharmacists were approached from the 9 subdistricts and invited to participate in the study.
Of the 90 community pharmacies approached, 60 agreed to participate in the study, representing a response rate of 67%. The majority (36/60, 60%) of the respondents were women, and more than half (32/60, 53%) of the community pharmacies were run by young adults (ie, 30 years old and younger). More than three-quarters of the community pharmacies (46/60, 77%) used electronic health records. Half of the community pharmacies used online social media platforms for advertising and promoting their pharmacies. The vast majority of the community pharmacies (55/60, 92%) were using modern electronic payment systems, and some were also using other new electronic payment methods. Moreover, most of the community pharmacies (41/60, 68%) were using software and programs for accounting and logistics purposes. In addition, 47/60 (78%) of the community pharmacies used a barcode reading system for medicines/health products, and 16/60 (27%) of the pharmacies had online stores, and consumers could buy medicines and health products from these pharmacies via their online portal. In addition, 20/60 (33%) of the community pharmacies used at least one of the common online business platforms available in Southeast Asia to sell products/medicines. The telephone was the most commonly used means of communication with patients, although some pharmacies also used email, WhatsApp, SMS text messaging, and other communication platforms.
This study showed that the majority of community pharmacies in Selangor, Malaysia are using ICT for different purposes. However, there is still limited use of mobile apps to provide health services. Overall, community pharmacies have been adopting ICT apps for pharmacy services but the rate of adoption is relatively slower than that in other sectors of Malaysia.
信息通信技术（ICT）是现代“智慧城市”的重要组成部分。这些智慧城市通过ICT整合了住房、市场、公共设施、服务、商业和交通。ICT如今也广泛应用于城市医疗服务。
本研究旨在确定ICT在马来西亚雪兰莪州社区药房中的定位和作用。
2018年11月至2019年1月在雪兰莪州9个不同的分区进行了一项横断面研究，包括梳邦再也、蕉赖、蒲种、巴生港、哥打白沙罗、士拉央、秋杰、安邦和斯里肯邦安。从这9个分区共联系了90名社区药剂师并邀请他们参与研究。
在联系的90家社区药房中，60家同意参与研究，回复率为67%。大多数（36/60，60%）受访者为女性，超过半数（32/60，53%）的社区药房由年轻人（即30岁及以下）经营。超过四分之三的社区药房（46/60，77%）使用电子健康记录。一半的社区药房使用在线社交媒体平台来宣传和推广他们的药房。绝大多数社区药房（55/60，92%）使用现代电子支付系统，有些还使用其他新的电子支付方式。此外，大多数社区药房（41/60，68%）使用软件和程序进行会计和物流工作。另外，47/60（78%）的社区药房使用药品/保健品条形码读取系统，16/60（27%）的药房有在线商店，消费者可以通过其在线门户从这些药房购买药品和保健品。此外，20/60（33%）的社区药房使用了东南亚常见的至少一种在线商业平台来销售产品/药品。电话是与患者沟通最常用的方式，不过一些药房也使用电子邮件、WhatsApp、短信和其他通信平台。
本研究表明，马来西亚雪兰莪州的大多数社区药房将ICT用于不同目的。然而，用于提供健康服务的移动应用使用仍然有限。总体而言，社区药房一直在采用ICT应用于药房服务，但采用率相对低于马来西亚其他行业。
