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. 2022 Apr 30;22(1):582.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-07991-7.

The modern Russian pharmaceutical market: consumer attitudes towards distance retailing of medicines

Liudmila Lobuteva  1 , Alisa Lobuteva  2 , Oksana Zakharova  1 , Oxana Kartashova  1 , Natalia Kocheva  1
Affiliations

The modern Russian pharmaceutical market: consumer attitudes towards distance retailing of medicines

Liudmila Lobuteva et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: In Russia, remote retail trade of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines was legalised. According to statistics as of April 2020, consumer demand in the categories of "online pharmacies" increased by 803%.

Methods: The study was conducted in two stages by cross-sectional method using a structured questionnaire in the central region of Russia: 1st stage - July-August 2020; 2nd stage - February-March 2021. The results of the study were obtained using qualitative (method of discussions in focus groups) and quantitative methods (survey) of sociological research, logical and statistical analysis. The representativeness of the data was ensured by a sufficient sample size including 1194 consumers (with confidence probability = 0.95 and confidence interval ≤ 0.05).

Results: The number of respondents fully supporting the legalisation of online trade in medicines increased. Consumer attitudes towards online commerce depend on the age group of the respondents. 1.5 times more respondents over 46 years (12.1%) are strongly against distance selling of medicines compared to survey participants aged 18 to 25 years (7.8%). Six months after the first survey, no respondent strongly opposed the sale of prescription medicines through the internet, whereas in the first survey half of consumers held this view. The percentage of respondents who considered pharmaceutical counselling when purchasing medicines online as extremely important decreased by a factor of 4 over time (10.9%) M (08.2020) = 3.66 (0.992); M (03. 2021) = 3.17 (0.981) t = 7.66 (p < 0.05). Consumers consider accessibility for people with disabilities (80.3%) to be the most significant advantage of distance selling medicines.

Conclusion: Consumer demand for the purchase of medicines online will grow as this type of sale has undeniable advantages. However, some risks remain when buying medicines online.

Keywords: Consumer behaviour; Distance selling of medicines; Internet pharmacy; Pharmaceutical product.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Evolution of consumer demand (%) for remote purchase of medicines from 08.2020 to 03.2021
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Evolution of consumer opinion (%) from 08.2020 to 03.2021 on the relevance for them of pharmaceutical counselling when purchasing medicines online
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of consumer perceptions (%) of price changes following the legalisation of distance selling of medicines
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Joint Nordic Report . Online pharmacy markets in the Nordics. 2021.
    1. Statista . Number of distance selling pharmacies in England from 2008/09 to 2019/20. 2021.
    1. Statista . Sales revenue of medicine through online retail pharmacies as end sales channel in China from 2011 to 2019. 2020.

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