ICT-enabled Value Creation in Community Pharmacies

Pharmacist-patient communication is currently limited to infrequent encounters in pharmacies, which limits the delivery of and value created by pharmacy services. We seek to better understand how ICT can enable value creation by extending pharmacist-patient communication beyond these encounters. In an applied design science research study with 21 Swiss community pharmacies, we designed an artifact that unleashes the provision of pharmacy services from personal encounters. We investigate (1) strategic intent for extending the communication, (2) business model requirements that are generated, (3) ICT capabilities that need to be developed, and (4) value that is created by the artifact instantiation. The findings can help healthcare practitioners to gain a better understanding of their current and future value proposition and policy-makers can (re-)consider the role of pharmacies and ICT-enablement in healthcare reforms. The presented process and artifact evaluation can contribute to the scientific dialog on co-evolution of artifact design and value creation.