From Drug Dispenser to Health Dispenser: The New Role of Pharmacists in Enabling Patients

Objectives.Service co-production is intrinsic to health care delivery. Sticking to a patient-centered approach to care, both the patients and the health care professionals are understood as partners in co-planning, co-designing and co-delivering health services. Various strategies could be devised in an attempt to enable patients and engage them in value co-creation. In particular, this paper delves into the pharmacists’ role in empowering patients. Methodology.An exploratory case study approach was taken. A “consumer” co-production experience was investigated, which was aimedat increasing the patients’ medication adherence and therapeutic compliance. Mixed methods and heterogeneous sources were used to collect and examine data. Findings.Results disclosed that the “consumer” co-production approach paved the way for a process of patients enablement.Indeed, patients participated in value co-creation through increased medication adherence and therapeutic compliance. However, rather than enacting a process of patient empowerment, “consumer” co-production contributed in making the patients reliant on the support of pharmacists, producing a sort of disempowerment. What is even more interesting, is that several categories of patients were found to be unwilling to participate in value co-creation. This was especially true for elderly and people living with multiple chronic conditions. Research limits.In light of the exploratory nature of this paper, results are not generalizable. Besides, the qualitative approach used for the purpose of this study provided context-specific findings. Practical implications. Value co-creation initiatives could be enhanced introducing a process of patient enablement, which engenders the establishment of a common ground between the patients and the providers of care. Patient enablement paves the way for the enhancement of patients’ ability to navigate the health care system properly, which is a fundamental factor to realize the full potential of value co-creation. Originality of the study.The pharmacists’ role in empowering patients is widely overlooked both in conceptual and in practical terms. Further developments are needed to push forward the scientific knowledge about this topic.