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The study aims to estimate the prevalence of workplace bullying, personal and work-related impacts, reporting practices for bullying, and the reasons for not reporting bullying incidents in the New Zealand pharmacy sector.

An online survey was conducted among registered pharmacists and pharmacist interns in New Zealand from June to August 2020. The questionnaire comprises both close-ended and semi-structured free-text questions. Goldberg’s 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assessed the respondents’ general psychological health status, and a 22-item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was used to estimate bullying prevalence together with the self-rated/self-labeled questions. The qualitative information obtained from the free-text responses was used to support and elaborate on the quantitative results.

The self-labeled prevalence of workplace bullying was 36.9%, with almost 10% reporting it occurring almost daily to several times per week. The 54.7% prevalence based on the NAQ-R assessment compares well with the prevalence of witnessing the incidents (58.5%). Psychological distress symptoms were experienced by 37.1% in pre-COVID and 45.3% during COVID-year 1. Supervisors or direct managers were the commonest perpetrators (32.7%). Only 28.8% of those who experienced bullying had reported the incidents formally.

This study is cross-sectional, and the relationships indicated are bi-directional. The consistency of the results is reassuring, however inferring causality of effect is challenging. Future studies and analyses should focus on this. This study suggests that in the pharmacy environment bullying from the top is reasonably prevalent, is not commonly reported and requires the design and implementation of prevention and management strategies that take into account and mitigate these bullying factors. Professional pharmacy leadership organizations, National Health Authority and Pharmacy regulators could play a significant role in awareness and training to reduce bullying with the development and promotion of strategies to curb it and improve reporting.

This is the first paper to describe the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying, and the practices of reporting bullying incidents in the New Zealand pharmacy sector. Based on empirical evidence, pharmacists represent a small share of total healthcare workforce, yet the overall prevalence of bullying is consistent with professions with much larger numbers such as medicine and nursing.

Up until now, some internet shopper profiles based on certain findings have been generally accepted. It is widely believed that internet shoppers tend to be more innovative, less averse to risk, more variety-seeking, more information-seeking, more impulsive and more interested in pursuing convenience. This paper aims to discuss some of these assumed characteristics by contrasting and comparing customers of three different types of pharmacies.

Three exploratory-descriptive design studies are conducted to profile customers from three different types of pharmacies in Mexico. Data from three samples are assessed, including 198 customers of physical drugstores without an e-channel, 150 customers of physical pharmacies with an e-channel and 271 customers of online pharmacies.

Shoppers from physical pharmacies purchase more food and drinks than actual medicine. Shoppers from physical pharmacies with e-channels tend to use the internet to acquire information about pharmaceutical products but do not make purchases online; they prefer to obtain products immediately from a physical drugstore instead of waiting for delivery from an e-channel. Contrasting with the two former customer types, shoppers who use e-pharmacies are specific in the numbers and types of products they purchase, medicines being the main priority.

The three types of customers and their preferred shopping platforms may show important profile differences. Despite the evidence in previous literature, shoppers at physical pharmacies are not necessarily non-convenience oriented (time and effort), noninformation analyzing, non-price conscious or less positive in their attitude about shopping; instead, they may simply be averse to technology.

This study aims to understand the determinants of online pharmacy or epharmacy adoption among young consumers in Bangladesh using an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model.

A structured Google Docs questionnaire was sent out to 420 respondents using messenger service; 285 useable responses were finally extracted. Data were empirically validated using the two-staged structural equation model (SEM)-neural network analysis approach.

The robustness of the classical UTAUT model remains intact in the context of online pharmacy adoption. Among the integrated variables, while perceived trust and health literacy were found significant, perceived risk and personal innovativeness were found insignificant in determining consumers’ intention to adopt online pharmacy. The neural network analysis provided further verification of these findings derived from the SEM.

The findings of this study would facilitate in devising better strategies for entering or expanding online pharmacy business in developing countries such as Bangladesh.

The originality of the current study relates to the two-fold contributions of this study. First, while this study extended the classical UTAUT model by incorporating perceived risk, perceived trust, personal innovativeness and health literacy, the inclusion of the following two variables is fresh within the extant online pharmacy literature. Second, by using a two-staged SEM-neural network analysis approach, this study advances the past studies on e-commerce adoption in pharmaceutical settings and provides a general understanding of the customers of developing countries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Irish community pharmacy sector in the context of power relationship theory. Specifically, the paper analyses the relationship between dispensary software vendors and the independent community pharmacist; and explore dominant industry partners' influence on individual pharmacies in terms of technology adoption. The core objective is to ascertain whether the potential for a cooperative construct can be realised in this milieu. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive literature review precedes a full investigation and analysis of the Irish community pharmacy sector's competitive environment, in the context of the pre‐mentioned power relationship theory. Findings – This research uncovered a potential alternative to the industry's existing power imbalance in the form of a cooperative construct between a team of independent community pharmacists and an employed software vendor. The purpose of this partnership was to ensure the installed software focused on the pharmacist's strategic needs rather than those of the dominant partners. The paper goes on to discuss the failure of this partnership in the context of independent pharmacist's future competitive survival. Research limitations/implications – Data collection was limited to the community pharmacy sector in the Republic of Ireland. Therefore, care should be taken in making generalisations from this study. Practical implications – In the absence of cooperative constructs, power relationship imbalances will continue to exist in this competitive environment, to the detriment of the small firm. Originality/value – Little research has been completed in the area of small business cooperative constructs as a means of competing successfully in a power relationship scenario. This paper goes some way to redressing this.

Over the period 1955–75 there was a national decline of 25% in the number of pharmacies, while in Scotland the proportion was 30%; in London the fall has been even greater — 30% in the shorter period 1963–75. A recent report by the Retail Outlets Research Unit looks into the decline of the independent pharmacy and their changing distribution. What follows is a summary of the report.

This study aims to assess whether patients [who receive community pharmacy services at locations where routine medication therapy management (MTM) care is reimbursed] who were adherent to their medications generated lower inpatient hospitalization expenses.

This is a retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study using administrative claims data drawn from 84 community pharmacies in North Dakota. The included patients were enrolled in a Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota insurance plan and were taking one or more of eight groups of medications (metformin, antidepressants, anti-asthmatics, ACEs/ARBs, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics and statins) commonly prescribed to treat chronic conditions filled between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. Community pharmacists used software that allowed the pharmacists to provide and bill for MTM services. Data from these sources were used to calculate medication adherence and inpatient costs.

Patients prescribed a beta blocker, a calcium channel blocker, and a diuretic or an anti-diabetic medication, and those who are fully adherent to their medications were associated with significantly lower inpatient hospitalization costs (as measured by insurance payments to hospitals) as compared to non-adherent patients. Patients who were fully adherent to their medications had no statistically significant differences in patient-specific costs compared to non-adherent patients.

Patients receiving services at a community pharmacy that offers MTM services and those who were adherent to their medication regimens generate lower health care expenses. Most of the savings come from lower hospitalization expenses, rather than patient-paid expenses.

Against a backdrop of concerns regarding the quality and equity of the final practice-based pre-registration training year, the purpose of this paper is to examine how robust and equitable current education and training arrangements in Great Britain are in preparing newly qualified pharmacists (NQPs) for practice.

In addition to considering relevant regulator, policy and research literature, this paper presents findings from a longitudinal qualitative study that tracked 20 pharmacy trainees and their tutors during pre-registration training and early registered practice. Trainees were interviewed four times over a 12-month period; tutors were interviewed twice. Semi-structured interviews explored learning and development, work environment and support received. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically using template analysis.

Currently, there are no requirements tor training pre-registration tutors, or for accreditation or quality assurance of training sites. Longitudinal interview findings showed that community trainees developed knowledge of over-the-counter and less complex, medicines whereas hospital trainees learnt about specialist medicines on ward rotations. Hospital trainees received support from a range of pharmacists, overseen by their tutor and other healthcare professionals. Community trainees generally worked within a small pharmacy team, closely supervised by their tutor, who was usually the sole pharmacist. NQPs were challenged by having full responsibility and accountability as independent practitioners, without formal support mechanisms.

The variability in trainee experience and exposure across settings raises concerns over the robustness and equity of pre-registration training. The lack of formal support mechanisms post-registration may pose risks to patient safety and pharmacists’ well-being.

This paper aims to identify antecedents and consequences of pharmacy loyalty behavior.

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Constructs involved were measured using an online self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic and linear regression.

In all, 400 usable responses were obtained. General satisfaction (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52; p < 0.01; 95 per cent confidence interval [CI] = 1.12 to 2.06) and trust (OR = 1.81; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 1.32 to 2.50) were found to have statistically significant relationships with loyalty behavior. General satisfaction (regression coefficient = 0.20; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.09 to 0.31), explanation component of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = 0.13; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.04 to 0.21), consideration and technical competence components of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = 0.18; p = 0.02; 95 per cent CI = 0.03 to 0.33) and trust (regression coefficient = 0.33; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.21 to 0.45) were statistically significantly related to positive word-of-mouth promotion. General satisfaction (regression coefficient = −0.29; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = −0.3 to −0.18), consideration and technical competence components of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = −0.17; p = 0.02; 95 per cent CI = −0.31 to −0.03) and trust (regression coefficient = −0.21; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = −0.33 to −0.10) had statistically significant relationships with negative word-of-mouth promotion.

Pharmacists can utilize these results to develop better marketing strategies. These results can be used by researchers to forward this area of research. This study had some study design limitations that may affect its generalizability.

Effect of satisfaction as a multidimensional construct on pharmacy loyalty behavior and word-of-mouth promotion, identification of drivers of negative word-of-mouth promotion and effect of pharmacy trust on pharmacy loyalty behavior and word-of-mouth promotion are some of the major contributions of this study.

Attempts to investigate the perceived advantages and risks associated with online pharmaceutical transactions, and on this basis, to propose a specific segmentation of consumers.

Analyses the marketing procedures applied by pharmaceutical sites to emphasise the specific advantages and to minimise the perception of transactional risks, as well as the segmentation techniques applied online.

The results of the study indicate the existence of four main consumer categories. This schematic categorisation needs further development, in order to define more precisely the decision taking process and the online shopping behaviour for each customer segment, as well as the level of post‐purchase satisfaction. On the other hand, the paper demonstrated that the marketing approach of various online pharmacies is determined by the transactional model applied.

The empirical analysis presented in this paper should be complemented by future qualitative study, in order to facilitate a deeper understanding of the factors determining the growing success of online pharmacies.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the history of pharmacist involvement as vaccine providers in the USA and discuss examples of growing interests in other parts of the world.

Literature searches were performed in PubMed as well as pharmacy-related journals.

Pharmacists have been involved with the storage and management of vaccines for more than a century. Based on the unmet needs in meeting national goals for vaccination rates among adults in the USA, efforts led to training and recognizing pharmacists as vaccine providers which is now within the scope of practice for a pharmacist in all US states and territories. Pharmacists complete a comprehensive training program in vaccine sciences, regulatory considerations, as well as demonstration of skills in administering vaccines. Over 300,000 pharmacists have been trained in vaccine delivery and this represents the majority of the pharmacist workforce in the USA. There are examples of the beneficial impact of pharmacist involvement as vaccine providers in community pharmacy settings.

This review is based on a thorough review of the literature but was not conducted in a systematic fashion.

This review provides a historical perspective and evidence of the benefit of pharmacists as vaccine providers.