ArticleExploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy2024
Social robots counselling in community pharmacies - Helping or harming? A qualitative study of pharmacists' views.
Article in Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Young Adults' Needs in Social Robot Assisted Medication Counselling: Applying Peplau's Interpersonal Relations Model.Nursing philosophy : an international journal for healthcare professionals · 2026Article
- Utilization, perceived benefits and concerns regarding robotic technologies among community pharmacists.Future science OA · 2025Article
- Do you wanna dance? Tales of trust and driving trust factors in robot medication counseling in the pharmacy context.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Welfare technological solutions such as social robots attempt to meet the growing needs of the healthcare sector. Social robots may be able to respond to the shortage of pharmaceutical personnel at community pharmacies. However, there is a lack of previous studies regarding the use of social robots for medication counselling purposes in a pharmacy setting. Objectives: The objective of this qualitative study was to explore pharmacists' views on the potential role of social robots in medication counselling. Methods: Pharmacists, purposively sampled based on having recent experience of counselling customers in community pharmacies in Finland, first acted as customers interacting with the social robot in a simulated setting, before taking part in a focus group where their perspectives were explored. The focus group discussions were conducted in October and November 2022. The qualitative data was transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: The number of participants was eight in total. A main theme of how the robot may either help or harm concerning medication safety within a pharmacy setting was identified. The six sub-themes found, according to pharmacists' views on robot counselling in community pharmacies, are context, digital competence, customer integrity, interaction, pharmacists' professional role and human skills. Conclusions: According to the study findings, pharmacists experience that the social robot can offer a potential complement to a human pharmacist. The robot is seen as beneficial with respect to certain customer groups and in the light of personnel shortages, and may in the future add to trust, equality, freedom of choice and multilingualism, among other things, in the customer service situation at community pharmacies, thus improving medication safety.
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