PHARMACY ENTREPRENEURS' OPINION SURVEY ON BARRIERS FOR ENROLLING IN COMMUNITY PHARMACY DEVELOPMENT AND ACCREDITATION PROGRAM

In June 2006, 53 type 1 pharmacy entrepreneurs in Mueang district, Nakhon Pathom province, who did not enroll in Community Pharmacy Development and Accreditation Program (the PROGRAM), were interviewed for their opinions on barriers for enrolling in the PROGRAM. The subjects aged 44.1 +/- 11.9 years, 54.5% were men, 61.8 % possessed bachelor's degree, 49.1% had run their drug store business not more than 5 years, 43.6% were pharmacists, 79.6% understood the concept of accredited pharmacy (the major were pharmacist group), but only 37.7% wanted to enroll in the PROGRAM. The major barriers for enrolling in the PROGRAM were "available pharmacist during pharmacy work-hours" criteria (64.2%), and the funding for restoring and decorating drug store according to the Standard of Drugstores (56.6%). The non-pharmacist owners expressed their concerns on these barriers more than those pharmacist owners. Some entrepreneurs were not confident in the monitoring process for maintaining the quality of accredited pharmacy (47.2%) and the procedure for the accreditation (32.1%). Some drug store owners (26.4%) indicated that their opinions on barriers for enrolling in the PROGRAM were the non motivation of business benefit and non potential increasing competition from enrolling. Thus, the strategies for managing the PROGRAM are to increase public awareness and draw attention of the consumers and drug store owners, especially the consumers' benefit from the accredited pharmacy's service. This consumer's awareness would then demand the drug store owners to enroll in the PROGRAM. However any strategy encouraging the entrepreneurs to enroll in the PROGRAM should also considered together with business benefit.