Erin R. Holmes

Customer relationship management: Barnard's foundations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to delve into Barnards works to construct foundations of customer relationship management (CRM).Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies Barnards insights on customer participation using a post‐analytic method and uses them as inputs to the analysis of current CRM practices.Findings – As an outcome of the analysis, the paper identifies the practices that are likely to lead to more effective participatory behavior of customers.Research limitations/implications – Examining CRM from a historical perspective can open promising avenues for future research.Practical implications – CRM programs should incorporate the practice of customer relations management in order to provide managers with the knowledge base required for appropriate decision making.Originality/value – By placing contemporary discussions of CRM in its seminal historical context, scholars can draw upon a wealth of historical inputs to advance the study of how collaborations with customers can be...

Ask the Pharmacist: An Analysis of Online Drug Information Services

BACKGROUND: The Internet plays a large role in the provision of drug information. Given the growing number of patients seeking consultation on the Internet and the difficulty in regulating online pharmacy providers, an analysis of drug information provided by Internet pharmacies is warranted. OBJECTIVE: To assess the response rates and quality of responses to drug information questions submitted to “ask the pharmacist” services on Internet pharmacy sites and determine whether differences exist between National Association of Boards of Pharmacy—approved and nonapproved sites and among free-standing, chain, and independent pharmacy sites in the quality of information provided. METHODS: A content analysis was conducted on responses to 5 drug information questions electronically mailed to each of 64 Internet pharmacies identified through a meta-engine search. Three judges rated the quality of response components using a scoring system developed by an expert panel, with inter-rater reliabilities subsequently calculated. Both t-test and ANOVA procedures tested for differences in response quality. RESULTS: Responses were received for 51% of all questions submitted to the sites. Few differences in quality were found between approved/unapproved sites and among types of pharmacies. The percentage of correct responses provided for each of 22 response components ranged from 7% to 96%. CONCLUSIONS: While few differences were found among sites based on their approval status or type, low response rates and incomplete counseling information among many of the responses are cause for concern.

Results of the 2015 National Certified Pharmacy Technician Workforce Survey

Purpose The results of the 2015 National Certified Pharmacy Technician Workforce Survey are described. Methods A survey was e‐mailed to a randomized sample of 5,000 certified pharmacy technicians (CPhTs) throughout the United States, with response reminders employed. Survey items eliciting demographic and work characteristics and work life attitudes were generated from the literature and qualitative interviews. This study aimed to describe job satisfaction, sources of stress, profession and employer commitment, education and training, and reasons for entry into the profession among CPhTs and determine relationships between those variables and CPhTs’ level of involvement in various work activities, with particular attention paid to differences in practice setting. Frequency statistics, correlation analysis, and means testing were used to meet study objectives and identify significant differences. Results A total of 516 CPhTs currently working as a pharmacy technician responded to the survey. The CPhTs reported high levels of involvement in more traditional activities but less involvement in those that involve greater cognitive load. Respondents reported moderate levels of job satisfaction and commitment and somewhat high levels of stress overall. Most CPhTs chose to be a pharmacy technician because they desired to enter a healthcare field and help people and were recruited. CPhTs derived benefit from all aspects of education and training evaluated and most from on‐the‐job training. Perceived value of education and training was associated with higher satisfaction and commitment and with lower stress. There were a number of differences in these work life attitudes across practice settings and by involvement in various job functions. Conclusion The results of the survey indicated that job satisfaction and commitment were moderate and that stress levels were somewhat high among CPhTs. There were a number of differences in work life attitudes across practice settings and by involvement in various job activities.

A Review of Nutritional Tracking Mobile Applications for Diabetes Patient Use

Diabetes, a prevalent disease in the United States, is greatly impacted by lifestyle choices, notably nutrition. The goal of this research was to determine which of the nutritional tracking applications (apps) available for Apple (Cupertino, CA) iOS, Android® (Google, Mountain View, CA), and Windows (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) platforms should be a first recommendation to diabetes patients searching for a smartphone app to aid in dietary logging and, for some apps, other varying lifestyle and health data. This project did so by identifying the smartphone apps available on the iTunes® (Apple), Google Play, and Microsoft stores that have nutritional tracking capabilities and are of potential benefit to a patient with diabetes based on certain criteria. Each of the individual apps was then evaluated to determine which would be of most benefit to a diabetes patient. The apps were assessed based on several parameters, such as their food databases, logging options, additional tracking options, interoperability with other devices and apps, and diabetes-specific resources. This information was then compiled and evaluated to determine which apps would be of most benefit for diabetes patients. This research provides valuable information for both patients and healthcare providers because the results of this study can be used as a reference for practitioners wishing to make app recommendations for diabetes patients who are implementing lifestyle change as an aspect of therapy.

Instrument to measure psychological contract violation in pharmacy students.

Objectives. To adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy. Design. A psychological contract violations measure was developed from existing literature and the 1997 ACPE Guidelines and pilot-tested with second-year pharmacy students at 2 schools of pharmacy. A revised measure then was administered to second-year pharmacy students at 6 schools of pharmacy. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to indicate the level of obligations they received compared to what was promised by the school of pharmacy. Results. Exploratory factor analysis on the psychological contract violations measure was conducted using principal components analysis resulting in 7 factors, which led to a revised measure with 26 items. Using a sample of 339 students, the proposed 7-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. In general, the results supported the hypothesized model. The final 23-item scale demonstrated both reliability and validity. Some students perceived certain aspects of the psychological contract that exists with their school of pharmacy were being violated. Conclusion. The psychological contract violations measure may serve as a valuable tool in helping to identify areas where their students believe that schools/colleges of pharmacy have not fulfilled promised obligations.

Evaluating the balance of persuasive and informative content within product-specific print direct-to-consumer ads

This study attempts to compare the prevalence of persuasive and informative appeals found in direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads of prescription drugs in consumer magazines. A content analysis of DTC ads in a stratified randomized sample of magazines published from 1995 to 2000 identified the use of 10 types of persuasive appeals and 12 types of informative appeals. The average ad employed the use of 6.24 informative appeals and 3. 13 persuasive appeals. DTC ads in magazines with a predominately male readership were found to contain a greater number of persuasive appeals than ads in other magazines. While the products most frequently advertised were for chronic nonlife-threatening conditions, a panel of pharmacists evaluated the majority of these products as having a high degree of clinical usefulness. Despite significant differences in the prevalence of certain types of appeals among ads for different products, the balance of persuasive and informative appeals did not vary considerably among them. Ads for drugs judged to be more specious in clinical usefulness did not employ the use of additional persuasive appeals and were found to be just as informative as ads for other drugs.

Making MTM implementable and sustainable in community pharmacy: Is it time for a different game plan?

Although the literature has demonstrated positive patient outcomes from medication therapy management (MTM), implementing it in community pharmacy continues to be met with significant barriers. To make MTM implementation more attainable, scalable, and sustainable in community pharmacies, this paper puts out a call for the need to identify the proportion of patients who clinically qualify for various levels of intensity of MTM services. This paper presents three proposed levels of MTM: adherence management (lowest level of MTM intensity), interventions on drug-related problems (mid-level MTM intensity), and disease state management (highest level of intensity). It is hypothesized that the lowest levels of MTM intensity would be sufficient to address medication problems in the vast majority of patients and require fewer MTM skills and resources, while the highest levels of MTM intensity (requiring the most skills and resources) would address medication problems in the smallest number of patients whose medication problems could not resolved with lower-intensity MTM. Future research in this area will involve testing previously designed instruments to determine why patients are not adhering to their medication regimen, following patients who have already had their adherence managed with medication synchronization, and tracking patients who will require higher levels of pharmacy services.

The impact of the internet on community pharmacy practice: a comparison of a Delphi panel's forecast with emerging trends.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to forecast the impact of Internet pharmacy commerce on various stakeholders. A panel of experts assembled from a list of academicians in the social and administrative pharmaceutical sciences participated in a three-iteration Delphi procedure. Feedback from the aggregate responses of the panel was used to construct questionnaires employed in subsequent iterations of the Delphi. The panel converged to form a consensus upon a variety of issues. They forecasted the attainment of a 10-15% share in the market of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals through on-line purchases, the formation of strategic alliances among stakeholders in the drug distribution process, a shift in marketing strategies by brick-and-mortar stores, an increase in the prevalence of niching among pharmacy service providers and a subsequent growth in the implementation of cognitive services throughout the industry. With few exceptions, the forecast produced by the Delphi panel appears to be coming to fruition.

Customers cocreating value with the firm: implications for IHRM

The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework for governing an organizations relationships with customers engaged as contributors to the organizations business processes (i.e. customers as quasi-employees). Based on our suggested framework, we explain how appropriate customer-centric HRM practices can support more cost-effective and accommodating adaptations in the organizations governance of its relationships with customers. We complement these propositions with practical examples illustrating how customers who take different cooperative roles will increasingly become valuable organizational assets. The collaborating customers not only provide the information necessary for the successful performance of the service exchange, but also contribute human and social capital in performing tasks that are a complement to or a substitute for employee tasks. In conclusion, we outline implications for international human resource management (IHRM), as well as future research directions for examining the relationships among customer governance, role configurations, and IHRM practices.

The Professional Culture of Community Pharmacy and the Provision of MTM Services

The integration of advanced pharmacy services into community pharmacy practice is not complete. According to implementation research understanding professional culture, as a part of context, may provide insights for accelerating this process. There are three objectives in this study. The first objective of this study was to validate an adapted version of an organizational culture measure in a sample of United States’ (US) community pharmacists. The second objective was to examine potential relationships between the cultural factors identified using the validated instrument and a number of socialization and education variables. The third objective was to examine any relationships between the scores on the identified cultural factors and the provision of MTM services. This study was a cross-sectional online survey for community pharmacists in the southeastern US. The survey contained questions on socialization/education, respondents’ self-reported provision of medication therapy management (MTM) services, and the organizational culture profile (OCP). Analyses included descriptive statistics, a principle components analysis (PCA), independent samples t-test, and multivariate ordinal regression. A total of 303 surveys were completed. The PCA revealed a six-factor structure: social responsibility, innovation, people orientation, competitiveness, attention to detail, and reward orientation. Further analysis revealed significant relationships between social responsibility and years in practice, and people orientation and attention to detail and pharmacists’ training and practice setting. Significant positive relationships were observed between social responsibility, innovation, and competitiveness and the increased provision of MTM services. The significant relationships identified between the OCP factors and community pharmacist respondents’ provision of MTM services provides an important starting point for developing interventions to improve the uptake of practice change opportunities.