Stefan V. Balkanski‡, Joana I. Simeonova§, Stanislav R. Gueorguiev|, Elina S. Petkova-Gueorguieva|, Ivan G. Gitev‡, Ilko N. Getov¶Corresponding author: Elina S. Petkova-Gueorguieva ( elinapetkova@abv.bg ) © Stefan V. Balkanski, Joana I. Simeonova, Stanislav R. Gueorguiev, Elina S. Petkova-Gueorguieva, Ivan G. Gitev, Ilko N. Getov. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Balkanski SV, Simeonova JI, Gueorguiev SR, Petkova-Gueorguieva ES, Gitev IG, Getov IN (2020) Pilot Study of Pharmacists’ Attitudes towards and Expectations for Remuneration of Valueadded Pharmacy Services (VAPS) in Bulgaria. Folia Medica 62(2): 324-330. https://doi.org/10.3897/folmed.62.e39371 |  |
Introduction: Value-added pharmacy services (VAPS) are additional services to the traditional pharmacy activities, which do not include dispensing of medicinal products and professional consultation. These services have cost reduction effect on the healthcare system and add value to the work of the pharmacist as a healthcare professional.
Aim: To assess the pharmacists’ attitudes and expectations towards the remuneration of value-added pharmacy services (VAPS) in Bulgaria.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study including pharmacists working in community pharmacies was carried out between August 2018 and October 2018. A web-based 15-item questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was distributed to all members of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union (n=5165). Two hundred thirty-three questionnaires were filled in and returned (response rate of 4.5%). Data were processed by SPSS v. 24.0.
Results: Over 51% of the community pharmacies in Bulgaria offer VAPS, mainly measuring blood pressure (67.4%) and blood glucose (12.9%). Over two-thirds of the pharmacists considered charging a remuneration fee for blood pressure measurement irrelevant. About 30.5% of those who held the opposite opinion proposed that the fee charged should not be higher than EUR 2.56. Over 44% of the respondents proposed that the fee for blood glucose measurement should not be higher than the same amount. Most pharmacists (98.3%) supported the idea of charging a remuneration fee for injections and influenza vaccination in a pharmacy.
Conclusion: The study shows that pharmacists in Bulgaria are ready to offer VAPS, but additional remuneration for the services should be provided.