August 14th, 2023, Lesley Simeon
A recent YouGov piece discussed the most common barriers global consumers face when obtaining prescription medicines. Here, we highlight data from a recent YouGov survey conducted across 18 international markets that provides insights into the factors global consumers research before purchasing prescribed medication and whom they consult before finalizing the purchase.
Globally, nearly four in ten (37%) consumers research a prescribed medication’s potential side effects and risks before buying it, making this factor the top factor consumers consider.
Just over a quarter of them (26%) research the medicine’s efficacy and success rate before finalizing the purchase. However, a third of global consumers (33%) have not researched any prescribed medication in the past six months.
Data across regions reveals that consumers in the UAE (9%) are least likely to say they haven’t researched any prescribed medication over the last six months. Conversely, more than four in ten consumers in North America (43%) say they haven’t researched any prescribed medication in the last six months (many of them will not have needed to purchase medicine).
Survey data also points to consumers’ curiosity about a medications’ potential side effects and risks. The effects and risks have been researched by 42% of consumers in APAC with UAE following closely at 41%. Over a third (36%) of consumers in North America and 31% of those in Europe have researched a medication's potential side effects and risks before making a purchase.
In APAC, alternative treatment options to the medication are the least researched subject before buying prescribed medication. Nevertheless, a quarter (25%) of consumers in this region look up the topic. In the UAE, over a quarter of consumers (27%) research the medication's interactions with other medicines, making this one of the less common factors researched in this region.
The price of medication at different pharmacies and/or retailers is a fairly important parameter to research before buying prescribed medication for consumers in the UAE (27%) and APAC (28%). But this is less important in the US with a little over one in ten (13%) consumers making a price comparison for prescribed medication before buying it. More than four in ten consumers in the US (43%) say they haven’t researched any prescribed medication over the last six months - the highest numbers among all regions surveyed.
In Europe, potential side effects and risks (31%) and efficacy and success rate (20%) are the top two factors consumers research about before buying medication. It’s worth noting, however, that in some countries, medicine costs are covered by healthcare systems. On the other hand, alternative treatment options to the medication (12%) and price of the medication at different pharmacies and retailers (16%) are the least researched topics.
In addition to topics that consumers research about before buying prescribed medication, we also look at channels they rely on or sources they refer to when conducting such research.
The channels global consumers use to research prescribed medication before purchasing them
YouGov data shows that consultations with pharmacists or other healthcare providers is the most preferred option for global consumers (37%) looking to know more about prescribed medication. On the other hand, mobile apps/websites of medication retailers and aggregators are the least preferred option, with less than two in ten global consumers (18%) opting for this channel.
Consumers in the UAE and APAC are more likely than those in North America and Europe to rely on consultations with pharmacists or healthcare providers or rely on friends or family members who may have used the medication before.
In the UAE, consumers refer to the medication manufacturer’s website and visit the mobile apps/websites of the medication retailers/aggregators (28% each).
In APAC, referring to the medication manufacturer’s website is the least opted for channel for research before buying prescribed medication (22%), while in North America, it’s the mobile apps and websites of medication retailers/aggregators (12%).
Data from Europe shows similar trends, with mobile apps and websites of medication retailers/aggregators (12%) and online review/ratings of the medication on social media platforms (14%) being the least opted for research channels.
Explore our living data - for free
Discover more health and pharma content here
Want to run your own research? Run a survey now
Make smarter business decisions with better intelligence. Understand exactly what your audience is thinking by leveraging our panel of 20 million+ members. Speak with us today.
Methodology: Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets. All surveys were conducted online in May 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
Photo by Roberto Sorin on Unsplash