Nur Aqilah Alimin

Abstract

Introduction: The pharmacy drive-through service (P.D.T.S.) is an innovative medication dispensing service that aims to reduce the hurdles of collecting medications. Through the P.D.T.S., patients may have the convenience of getting medication at the drive-through pharmacy counter. By conducting a qualitative study, we explored the user’s experiences of P.D.T.S. in a public specialist hospital in Miri, Sarawak State of Malaysia. Methods: The P.D.T.S. users who consented to participate were invited to a semi-structured phone interview. We go in-depth on the awareness, barriers, application, improvements, and benefits of the P.D.T.S. The interviews lasted, on average, 15 minutes or until achieving data saturation. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and the transcripts were analysed thematically. Result: Participants perceived the P.D.T.S. as convenient and gave them a sense of safety through physical distancing while collecting their medications. On the contrary, they experienced confusion with the instructions on using P.D.T.S. and some degree of inflexibility, especially in the appointment setting. Conclusion: The users of P.D.T.S. had both positive and negative experiences with P.D.T.S. The negative aspect must be improved, especially the user’s instructions and the appointment system.