Adoption and Implementation of the Health Watch Screening Program in Community Pharmacies

Abstract

Biometric screenings are an important first step in the prevention of heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes but accessibility to these screenings can be limited. Community pharmacies are in a unique position as they are highly accessible when compared to other health care settings. The goals of this study are to (a) identify factors that influence community pharmacies to adopt/not adopt biometric screening services and the decision-making processes they utilize as well as (b) explore different models of how screening services are offered and identify infrastructure (including structure and processes) that pharmacies use to ensure long-term sustainability. Interviews were conducted with key informants from Alabama community pharmacies and analyzed using a form of emergent theme analysis. Study results show that attributes of the innovation and organizational characteristics influence adoption decisions in community pharmacies. This study suggests potential strategies to increase adoption of innovative patient care services. Future research is needed to improve dissemination, adoption, and sustainability of innovations.