Swiss Community Pharmacies and E-commerce
Author Information
Author(s): Simon Zehnder, Rudolf Bruppacher, Hans Ruppanner, Kurt E Hersberger
Primary Institution: Institute for Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacenter, Basel, Switzerland
Hypothesis
How many Swiss community pharmacies have an Internet presence and what are their experiences with e-commerce?
Conclusion
The number of community pharmacies offering Internet services steadily increased over 32 months, and many pharmacies plan to maintain or expand their Internet services.
Supporting Evidence
- 44% of Swiss German community pharmacies had an Internet presence by April 2003.
- 74% of pharmacies provide e-commerce services.
- 81% of pharmacies fill five or fewer orders per month.
Takeaway
This study looked at how many Swiss pharmacies are online and what they do there. More and more pharmacies are using the Internet to help customers, but many still have questions about selling medicines online.
Methodology
A longitudinal study with Internet searches and an Internet-based questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the presence and experiences of Swiss community pharmacies online.
Potential Biases
Pharmacies offering e-commerce services may be overrepresented among respondents.
Limitations
The study may not represent all pharmacies as nonrespondents were not well characterized, and it only covers the situation in Switzerland from 2000 to 2003.
Participant Demographics
Pharmacies from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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