ArticlePharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)2025
Cost Analysis of Multidose Drug Dispensing (MDD) System Implementation in a Community Pharmacy in Portugal.
Article in Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Community Pharmacist Preferences for Providing a Dose Administration Aid Service in Australia: A Discrete Choice Experiment.PharmacoEconomics · 2026Article
- Microbial contamination of medicines, medical devices, cosmetics, child and personal care products: a comprehensive review of secondary contamination risks in home-use settings.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCommunity pharmacies are increasingly delivering structured services to support chronic disease management, such as Multidose Drug Dispensing (MDD). This strategy can improve adherence and safety, but evidence of its economic feasibility in Portuguese pharmacies remains limited.
objectiveTo estimate the cost of implementing and operating an MDD system in a community pharmacy, informing reimbursement models and policy.
methodsA micro-costing approach assessed fixed and variable expenses for serving polymedicated elderly patients. Costs were calculated in euros (2024/2025) and expressed per working day based on 253 annual preparation days.
resultsFirst-year costs totaled €70,985.68, including €8184.00 for setup, €21,579.00 for supplies, and €41,222.68 for staff salaries. The daily operating cost was €280.58, with labour representing the major expense. A break-even analysis indicated sustainability with around 700 users at €10/month.
conclusionAlthough requiring significant initial investment, MDD can become financially viable through scaling, workflow efficiency, and supportive reimbursement strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.