- The national study “Preferences about the filling of medical prescriptions in Mexico” by Psyma Latina identified the preferred spaces of patients.
- The work identified that eight out of 10 prescriptions are prescribed to treat acute conditions.
- In addition to the price, other variables such as the availability of the input and benefit programs also have an influence.
In the event of any discomfort, it is essential to see a doctor immediately. With the help of your knowledge and a review, you can identify the cause of the problem and the indications for a speedy recovery. At the end of the query, it is necessary to issue a prescription and at that moment a new process begins. It is about starting or continuing a treatment and for this you have various alternatives with respect to the place where you want to acquire the drugs.
What do patients prefer?
In this context, the reason for the consultation and/or the diagnosis obtained influences the place where the patient buys his medicines. In part, it is due to the fact that the diagnosis determines the time of treatment to which the patient must adhere and during which he must pay for it.
To corroborate this, Psyma Latina performed her Psyma Pulse “Preferences about the supply of medical prescriptions in Mexico”. It consisted of asking 514 patients about their preferences for filling their medications.
About, Efrain Monsalvo, who is Associate Director & Head of the Healthcare Division at Psyma Latinastated that in order to group the answers, the result of the query was divided into acute and chronic ailments.
“Within the findings, we found that eight out of 10 medical prescriptions were prescribed to treat acute conditions. While the proportion of prescriptions for chronic treatments increases considerably from the age of 54”.
Over the years it has been observed that the aspiration at the level of public policies and the pharmaceutical industry is to have a market for innovative medicines that are safe, effective and affordable. Although at fill a prescription the patient looks for besides the price, to have opportunity, availability of the product and programs of benefits.
All the variables that influence
In this case, opportunity refers to the patient having the point of sale nearby, passing through or even in the same place of consultation to fill your prescription. This attribute mainly benefits pharmacies that have a doctor’s office and those located within self-service stores.
The benefit programs they are a variable with which the patient is already familiar, managing to accumulate points that can be exchanged for medicines or obtaining discounts, promotions and/or “gift” products. In particular, this attribute has been developed by chain pharmacies.
Availability is another sensitive attribute that impacts the image of the point of sale. The absence of medication, especially in the public sector, gives way to generic and/or similar products, brand switching and even treatment abandonment.
The price is the variable they look for in any point of sale; however, it is the main strength of generic and/or similar pharmacies.
On the other hand, when relating the type of illness (time of treatment) with the alternatives that the patient has to fill their medical prescription, it was found that half of those who suffer from acute illnesses prefer to fill generic or similar pharmacies. While those patients who have long-term treatments seek to obtain the medication in public sector pharmacies and chain pharmacies.
Also read:
INFOGRAPHIC: Mandatory elements that a prescription must have
8 common mistakes when writing a medical prescription that you should avoid
The only 5 professions that can issue a medical prescription according to the SSa