Risicogedrag bij het online bestellen van geneesmiddelen (Dutch title)
Intomart GfK has, by order of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, conducted a quantitative research in early 2009, and a second wave in October 2012.
The aim of the re-search is to gain insight in the target group of people who have purchased medication on-line or who consider doing so (‘considerers’). This research provides insights in the background details of on-line purchasers and developments in their motives, behavior, risk perception and need for information.
Profile people purchasing and considering on-line purchase 13% of the of the adults (18+) indicate, in Autumn 2012, ever having purchased medication on-line. A further 6% of the adults have at some point in time considered purchasing medication on-line.
On-line medication is often purchased without a doctor’s prescription. The percentage of Dutchmen that have purchased medication on-line without a prescription at some point in their lives increased from 3% in 2009 to 11% in 2012. Dutchmen who do not purchase medication on-line are, on average, older and tend to have a slightly lower level of education than those who do. Female consumers buy medication on-line slightly more often than male consumers.
The prime motive for purchasing medication on-line is convenience; the possibility to order out-side office hours and home delivery are considered great advantages. The motives for not buying medication on-line are widely divergent, but mostly concern lack of clarity of the information.
Purchase behavior
On-line medication is often purchased without a doctor’s prescription (ranging from 30% for antibiotics to 96% for diet pills). Usually people do not consult their doctor when considering the on-line purchase of medication. However, people do have a need for information, and they often look for it on the internet.
Although more and more Dutchmen order medication on-line, the frequency of the purchases has decreased. Medication is bought on-line rather occasionally. For ordering medication, people usually go to Dutch websites. Customer satisfaction with the medication ordered is high, as is the willingness to promote the on-line purchase of medication to others; over half of the customers (55%) would recommend others to buy their medication on-line. This especially holds true for contraceptives and painkillers.
Satisfaction with on-line purchase is lowest for hypnotic medication, anti-smoking medication and diet pills. The most common reasons for dissatisfaction are the lack of improvement of sleep, failure to quit smoking or insufficient weight loss.
Risk perception
People who have purchased medication on-line and considerers are to a large degree aware of the risks involved. Two in three buyers and considerers acknowledge that control by a pharmacist’s may be lacking, and the composition of a product may be different. More than half of the customers know that the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) may be missing or is unclear, or that the product has the wrong label.
Even though buyers and considerers are equally aware of the different risk factors associated with the on-line purchase of medication, there is a difference between these two groups in the perception of the magnitiude of the risks these pose for one’s health. For example, buyers estimate the risk of on-line medication being falsified at 28%, whereas considerers estimate this risk at 52%.
Buyers are aware of the risks but think they can manage them, and therefore they purchase their medication on-line. Considerers are more cautious. The greatest perceived risk is the lack of checks on possible side effects due to interactions with other medication. However, the other risk factors are estimated as being at an almost equally high level. The risks of side effects due to interactions can be brought to the attention of people currently already using other medications. For people currently not using any medications, this message will have no deterrent effect whatsoever.
Need for information
Considerers often have a higher demand for information than buyers (buyers: 31%, considerers: 43%). The need for information has, in 2012, increased somewhat since the previous wave of 2009. On-line buyers of medication who seek information about ordering medication on-line safely, mostly declare to do so via their regular pharmacy. The primary source of information to considerer is the internet. The Dutch Ministry of Health uses the website internetpillen.nl, along with other sources, to provide buyers and considerers with information about, for example, how to identify suppliers of counterfeit medication and how to order medication on-line safely. The website is mostly unknown, with only 3% awareness amongst buyers and 2% amongst considerers. The target audience either does not find its way to, or does not remember, the website.
Opinions vary widely about which would be the most obvious source of information about safely purchasing medication on-line. There are several credible parties that could provide the information. Buyers seem to have a slight preference for their regular pharmacy, while considerers prefer the general practitioner. Both groups also name the Ministry of Health and the RIVM (the National Institute of Public Health and Environment of the Netherlands) as obvious providers of the information.
Conclusions
More and more Dutchmen order their medication on-line, often without consulting a physician. To a large degree they are satisfied with the delivered product, and recommend it to others. In light of the high degree of satisfaction among a large group of Dutchmen, it can be expected that the on-line purchase of medication will increase further, and will even become widely accepted, in the years to come.
Even though on-line buyers of medication are aware of the risks involved with the on-line purchase of medication, they are confident that they are capable of assessing a provider’s trustwor-thiness. The lack of any check on possible side effects due to interactions with other medication is considered the greatest risk. The risks of side effects due to interactions can be brought to the attention of people currently already using other medications. Buyers see their regular pharmacy as an obvious and reliable source of information, making it the logical choice as a provider of information about the risk of purchasing medication on-line.
