Knowledge, perceptions, and readiness of telepharmacy (KPR-TP) questionnaire among pharmacists: Development and psychometric evaluation

J Telemed Telecare. 2023 Mar 22:1357633X231163354. doi: 10.1177/1357633X231163354. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Introduction: The pandemic increased pressure on healthcare services and forced limited care in all health facilities to ensure the care of all patients. Telepharmacy appears as an alternative to the remote pharmacy practice approach through information and communication technologies, but there are no comprehensive tools to measure pharmacists' knowledge, perception, and readiness to implement telepharmacy. This study developed and validated a questionnaire version of the Knowledge, Perceptions, and Readiness of Telepharmacy (KPR-TP) for pharmacists.

Methods: The KPR-TP assessed three domains: knowledge, perception, and readiness. Its factor structure, reliability, and validity were assessed using 7730 pharmacists from 34 Indonesian provinces. The validity of the model's three-factor structure was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability were used to validate the consistency of our factors, whereas convergent and discriminant validity established significant relationships between them.

Results: The goodness-of-fit index indicated that the model was economical and reasonable. Furthermore, the correlation between the three domains revealed a significant positive relationship. KRP-TP is a viable instrument for assessing pharmacists' perceptions of telepharmacy in Indonesia.

Conclusion: Overall, we discovered that our questionnaire contains critical constructs for assessing a pharmacist's knowledge, perception, and level of readiness to implement telepharmacy. This study will help pharmacists identify appropriate strategies for skill improvement.

Keywords: Knowledge; perceptions; readiness; telepharmacy.