The online purchase of medicines – an international pharmacists’ perspective

Background: Accessibility and affordability of medicines are key for patients’ effective treatment. However, drug prices are soaring, and patients are looking for cheaper medications in Europe and beyond. This study aimed to evaluate European pharmacists’ perceptions and attitudes about the impact of global inflation and the military conflict setting in Ukraine on patients’ buying medicines behaviours. A secondary objective comprised the problem of buying medicines from illegal online sources like social media or non-regulated marketplaces.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2023 to April 2024 using an anonymous and self-designed questionnaire consisting of 11 questions. The survey was created using Google Forms. The survey link was shared mostly by e-mail amongst practising pharmacists from five European countries.

Results: Events of the recent years, such as inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the war in Ukraine were perceived by the pharmacists as contributing to patients looking for better medicines prices, mostly related to online purchases. The most important factors influencing online purchase of medicines beyond price were convenience of shopping anytime, and fast and free delivery. There is a perceived growing interest in buying medicines from online facilities other than e-pharmacies, such as local websites, social media or global marketplaces (e.g., aliexpress.com). Pharmacists do not actively inform their patients about the possible risks of buying medicines from unverified online sources.

Conclusion: International disruptions seem to contribute to patients’ looking for better prices of medicines. There is a need for societal education about the risks related to the possibility of counterfeited medicines online, as well as pharmacists’ training to prioritize patient information and counselling on the hazards of medication acquisition from non e-pharmacies. There is an urgent need for global amendments to the pharmaceutical law to protect patients from illegal e-sources of medicines while keeping in-person services and offline purchases.

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Social Attitude to COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccinations after the Influenza Vaccination Season and between the Second and Third COVID-19 Wave in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected the entire world and contributed to severe health and economic consequences. A safe and effective vaccine is a tool allowing the pandemic to be controlled. Hence, we aimed to conduct a survey on vaccinations against seasonal influenza and COVID-19 in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. We also evaluated societal attitudes towards influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations. Materials and methods: We conducted the study between December 2020 and May 2021. At the time, the countries subject to the research were between the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used an anonymous and self-designed questionnaire comprised of eleven closed-ended questions and a short socio-demographic section. The questionnaire was administered by direct contact or mainly (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) by e-mail or Facebook. Finally, we included 2753 answers from Poland, 1852 from Ukraine, and 213 from Lithuania. Results: Between 61% (Poland) and 72.9% (Ukraine) of the study participants have never been vaccinated against influenza (p < 0.05). Totals of 67.6% of the respondents in Poland, 73.71% in Lithuania, and 29.5% in Ukraine responded that they want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Vaccine hesitancy was mainly related to worries about its side effects. There were also vaccine non-adopters in the study. In Ukraine, 67% of the respondents were clearly opposed to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, compared to 41.7% in Poland and 30.99% in Lithuania (p < 0.05). Conclusions: There are still many people who present vaccine hesitancy or are opposed to vaccines. Thus, societal education about vaccination and the pandemic is crucial. Vaccine hesitancy or refusal might be related to vaccine origin. Shortages of influenza vaccines made it impossible to vaccinate those who were determined to be vaccinated. There is room for discussion of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.
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