E-pharmacy use among Medical Interns: Insights into Knowledge and Attitude

Background: E-pharmacy is an online pharmacy that offers convenient, cost-effective, and round-the-clock access to medicines, driven by e-prescriptions and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, 95% operate in India illegally, raising concerns about patient safety. There is insufficient evidence on the awareness of E-pharmacy among Compulsory Rotatory Medical Interns (CRMIs). Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and usage pattern of E-pharmacy among CRMIs in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A prospective online questionnaire (Google Form)-based study was conducted using convenient sampling among 73 CRMIs at a tertiary care hospital in Palakkad for 3 months. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used, and the results were reported in the form of numbers and percentages. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 28 for Windows, was used to analyze the data. Results: The majority of participants (71%) had poor knowledge and a positive attitude (44%), and a significant association (P < 0.012) was found between knowledge and attitude. Despite 78.1% being aware of E-pharmacy, half (53.4%) had never purchased from an online pharmacy, potentially attributable to concerns regarding substandard medication quality (26%) and lack of personal interaction (21.9%). Beauty care products (31.5%) and nonprescription medications (28.8%) were the most often purchased items online. Conclusion: Though our interns had a positive attitude towards E-pharmacy, their knowledge was found to be low. Augmenting our interns' knowledge via educational interventions and integrating this subject matter into their curriculum may facilitate the promotion of safe E-pharmacy practices and guide policies for safer digital healthcare delivery.