Background: During the last century, closure in rural pharmacies has been increasing in Sweden resulting in unequal access to pharmaceutical services among the population. Telepharmacy is a provision of pharmaceutical care to patients at distance thereby increasing access to health care. Previous studies have shown promising results regarding various clinical outcomes, attitudes of patients and pharmacists in addition to high-quality drug counseling. As pharmaceutical care is essential for safe drug utilization, it is of importance to induce new approaches in Sweden to maintain pharmaceutical care in these areas. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate a telepharmacy system named Farmaceut på Distans at a local pharmacy in Sweden concerning; patient's and pharmacists’ attitudes, areas of improvements, and safety of the method. Methods: The study was performed between 26/4,-7/5 2021. The objectives of this study were evaluated through a questionnaire and short semi-structured interviews with patients, a semi-structured observation, a semi-structured interview with the project leader, and a focus group with included pharmacists. Additionally, a medicine dispensing error protocol was established.  Results: Eleven patients, three pharmacists, and the project leader were included in this study. This study shows that patients and pharmacists expressed optimistic attitudes towards Farmaceut på Distans. However, the method requires to be improved regarding technical aspects in advance of implementation. Further, no medicine dispensing errors were obtained.  Conclusions: Due to the small sample size, no conclusions can be drawn regarding the safety of the method. Farmaceut på Distans is a promising approach to maintain safe drug utilization in Sweden. However, further studies require to be performed regarding safety and attitudes among users.

Background: The use of telepharmacy has increased worldwide during the last decades, and facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely accelerate further. Sweden has several pre-conditions needed for telepharmacy, yet, telepharmacy development is slow. Aim: The present study's objective was to examine Swedish pharmacy students' views and opinions on telepharmacy in Sweden today and their education. A particular interest in communication education and whether it has prepared the students for patient communication at a distance. Additionally, the study explores e-pharmacy professionals views on the needed skills and experiences when working in the Swedish telepharmacy field. Methods: Two focus groups of fourth-year pharmacy students were performed in April 2021 via the web-based videoconference program Zoom. An open-ended questionnaire was sent via e-mail to practising e-pharmacy professionals. Five students and three e-pharmacy professionals participated in the study. Thematic inductive analysis was used to analyse the collected data. Results: The study's result implicates that the Swedish pharmacy education curriculum does not include telepharmacy. The students desire further education regarding communication at a distance but believe that part of the current education could be applied in an e-pharmacy setting.  The students' skepticism to e-pharmacies ability to perform safe and satisfactory pharmaceutical services is largely based on preconceptions and assumptions, partly confirmed by e-pharmacy professionals.  Conclusions: To not inhibit future developments in the pharmacy market, future pharmacists must be educated on telepharmacy methods. This study's insights may be useful for future educational initiatives and developments of the pharmacy education curriculum.