Telepharmacy and opportunities for its application in Bulgaria

Abstract

The application of telepharmacy opens new perspectives in the provision of health services and contributes to limiting the problem of reduced availability of pharmacists. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes towards offering and using telepharmaceutical services in Bulgaria. The study included 379 people, mostly health professionals. The mean age of respondents was 44.38±12.39. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.23. Over 90% of the respondents use the Internet to search for health information. Many of them read the package leaflet before use. For the most part, respondents are distrustful of food supplements sold on the Internet. More than 56% claim they would not buy prescription medicines online or via a mobile app, even if it was allowed by law. Quite a few would consult a pharmacist for a therapy prescribed at a distance as well as use a mobile application to monitor drug therapy. The spread and acceptance of telepharmacy is a challenge involving cooperation between the public and private sectors, as well as scientific institutions and academia, which is essential for achieving appropriate results and effectively improving health services.