An Investigation of the Relationship Between Prices of Pharmaceutical Products and Quality of Pharmaceutical Care: the Case of Selected Retail Pharmacies in Mombasa

Abstract

Literature shows that pharmacy practice in Kenya is economically driven as opposed to the United States of America where patient care is the main focus. This juxtaposition with patient focus on one side and economic gain on the other is of critical concern. This study investigated the relationship between the prices of pharmaceutical products and the quality of pharmaceutical services in registered retail pharmacies in Mombasa. Pharmaceutical care is the final step in management of most medical conditions and therefore failing at this point renders all the prior services futile. This study therefore aimed at qualifying and quantifying weakness in the patient care system thus providing policy makers with data necessary for the formulation of effective policies. The overall effect will be a more balanced approach where the quest to make profits in this sector is complemented by quality assurance in pharmaceutical service provision.

The study utilized primary data. Three sets of questionnaires were be used to collect data from three levels of informants. These are pharmacy owners, pharmacy staff and clients/patients. Data analysis and presentation was done using Microsoft Office Excel. The result was a high positive correlation between the prices of pharmaceutical products and quality of pharmaceutical service in a section of pharmacies. One out of every four retail pharmacies in Mombasa is mostly concerned with profitability. They are using low prices as a strategy to maximize profits. This strategy is not complemented by quality assurance measures.

The result is that the higher the tendency towards profitability and thus the lower the prices of pharmaceutical products, the lower the quality of pharmaceutical care offered and vice versa. This puts one out of every four residents of Mombasa seeking pharmaceutical services from retail pharmacies in the city is at risk of receiving substandard care now, and since the culture is being effectively propagated, in the years to come if the problem is not effectively addressed.