Awareness and Perceptions Regarding E-Pharmacies among the General Population Aged above 18 Years in Madurai City- A Cross Sectional Study

Background E-pharmacies are rapidly transforming the way people access medications. This study will identify evolving patterns in e-pharmacy utilization and analyze the factors influencing consumer choice, such as convenience, cost, product variety, and trust in online platforms.  Aim To comprehensively understand the level of awareness and perceptions regarding e-pharmacies among the general population.  Methods It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The study sample includes general population residing in and around Madurai. A self-administered questionnaire was designed from previously conducted studies and distributed to 270 participants. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts. Demographic inquiries encompassing gender, age, income, occupation, and professional background. Participants' awareness of E- pharmacy services and Evaluation of participants' attitudes towards E-pharmacy usage.  Results Totally 79.4% participants were aware of online pharmacy. The awareness was more in males and that too in urban population. Among the respondents, majority of the users prefer to buy medicines offline (93.2%) which can be due to poor quality of medicines and lack of trustworthy websites. The utmost reason for buying the medicine online was deficiency of availability in the market and differences in the prices. The most preferred drugs respondents were willing to buy online were prescription drugs followed by dietary supplements.  Conclusion Despite widespread awareness of e-pharmacy services, a notable level of hesitancy persists among potential users, indicating a need for targeted strategies to address concerns and encourage adoption.