Factors influencing the utilisation Value Added Services (VAS) in Pharmacy Department of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA), Kuantan

Pharmaceutical Services Division offers the Value Added Services (VAS) through various types of Pharmacy Appointment System (PhAS) including Sistem Pendispensan Ubat Bersepadu (SPUB), Ubat Melalui Pos 1 Malaysia (UMP 1 Malaysia), Drive-Thru Pharmacy and Short Message Service (SMS) & Take. Each type of VAS has its own speciality and is different from one another in certain aspects. It is believed that patients will choose the service that suites them the most according to the factors affecting their lifestyle. This study aimed to find out the usage pattern of VAS and the associated demographic and socio-economic factors of patients using VAS in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA). The data were collected in two ways which patients were interviewed at the pharmacy counter or via telephone. Data were analysed using SPSS and presented using Microsoft Excel. A total of 418 patients (53.45%) responded to the study at end of data collection process compared to the calculated sample size (782 patients). Interestingly, SPUB was the highest (41.9%) VAS utilised in HTAA, followed by Drive-Thru (32.3%), SMS & Take (18.7%) and UMP (7.2%). All demographic factors (sex, age, educational level and marital status) and socio-economic factors (monthly income, residential area, transportation, working sector and working time) of VAS patients that were focused in this study were influential in the utilisation of VAS, on the general. However, when comparisons were being made between the factors of patients using different types of VAS used, only 5 factors (educational level, marital status, residential area, transportation and working time) affected the types of VAS used. Along with evolving patient needs, VAS could be considered as a newly introduced system which would benefit patients. Thus it is important to improve and promote the use of VAS in order to ensure more eligible patients opt for an appropriate VAS instead of collecting medications traditionally at pharmacy counter, enhancing the health care services.