Design

    Considering the information advantages of health information technology (HIT), we are trying to imagine the future of pharmacy in Japan; a digital purchasing system in-store will play an essential role in building communication among pharmacists, consumers, and OTC medicine.

 
    Our study found that Japanese consumers are inclined to adopt a hybrid approach, wherein they are trying to integrate conventional (purchase medicines in-store) and digital behaviors (collect additional medical information through digital devices) to purchase OTC medicines. Meanwhile, they are inclined to receive individualized medicine guidance.

    In this concept, consumers share health information to the electronic health records of OTC medicine (OTC-EHR) while utilizing OTC medication, herein referred to as “user-shared health information.” Subsequently, review agencies assess and render this health information accessible to OTC-EHR users. Consumers can use digital devices to check OTC-EHR information in the pharmacy or use their smartphones to check OTC-EHR information. The envisaged design aims to ameliorate the inherent risks faced by consumers when seeking additional OTC medication information that lacks authentication for self-medication purposes.

   Japanese consumers, especially those with higher eHealth literacy and women, exhibit a positive inclination toward accessing user-shared OTC medicine information of OTC-EHR. Conversely, the motivation to share anonymized health-related data for OTC-EHR is relatively low. The psychological barriers to sharing anonymized health information should be improved by increasing the penetration rate of OTC-EHR and engaging in appropriate information design.

This case strives to conduct emotional design methods to provide consumers with a good user experience throughout the entire process of purchasing genetic testing services and checking genetic testing reports.